


Children of the Vault

by nukarachacha



Series: Children of the Vault [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Arranged Marriage, Asexual Character, Birthday Sex, Bisexual Character, Canonical Character Death, Child Death, Death in Childbirth, Depression, Dom/sub Undertones, Domestic Fluff, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, First Time, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Gay Character, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Loss of Virginity, Married!AU, Minor Character Death, Oral Sex, Pregnancy, Pregnant Sex, Protectiveness, Romance, Semi-Public Sex, Shower Sex, Unplanned Pregnancy, unprotected sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-09-17 18:17:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 53,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9337295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nukarachacha/pseuds/nukarachacha
Summary: It was just like any other day. Wake up, get ready, work, and avoid your childhood bully like the plague. That is until the Overseer tells everyone they're getting married and have to repopulate the Vault, and pairs the two of you up.Whether the two of you work things out and make up or settle on a mutual agreement to be civil (and give the Overseer the middle finger in the process) will be seen, but for now, Butch Deloria will have to learn not to fuck with Lex Valentino and live with it for the rest of his life in the Vault.





	1. Somewhere in the Future.. [Intro]

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, to new and known. This series is almost complete, just transferring what I have from my tumblr to here. All triggers and such are tagged. Will be nsfw in future chapters. Enjoy!

Lex drew in deep, ragged breaths, clutching at her side. Blood soaked through her clothes. The shrinking cloud of dust she was chasing quickly faded into nothing in the hot desert heat. Sweat fell from her forehead, blinding her, her vision blurring in and out of darkness.

She failed.

Her most cherished thing was taken from her, by a group she knew was no good. The half-assed reason they gave her made her realize they were only looking to experiment, not help like they had promised. They were just as bad as the Enclave.

They didn’t want to help the people of the world, they wanted to replace it with something that would last longer, but not let it develop and grow. The ‘hope’ they claimed they had, was false.

It was disgusting. Pathetic.

A gentle touch on her back shook her to her core. The throbbing pain in her chest exploded, following with it the emotions and tears she held in this whole time. His words whispered in her ears, trying to reach her and bring her back from the hole of despair she fell into.  

She had no idea how it got this bad, how cruel she realized the world actually was to people who finally found their happiness.

Tears, sweat and blood fell on her fallen pistol, soaking into the wooden grip where his name was etched into it. His words shook her, the fog still clouding their meaning before she cursed. The pain of bones realigning as she forced herself to stand almost made her scream to the high heavens. She stumbled, catching herself before she fell.

No. She would not let this wasteland win. She would not lose another person she called family to this horrible world again.

**The year was 2288. On that date, the Wasteland learned to fear the famed Lone Wanderer.**


	2. The Beginning of the End

**Year 2275, Tuesday, February  
**

* * *

When Lex woke up that morning, it felt like any other day. Stale, recycled air blasting down early in the morning, preventing her from sleeping a few minutes more unless she wanted to freeze.

So she got up, combing through her hair quickly and tying it in a lazy bun at the back of her head. She was slipping her vault suit on when a crackle over the intercom brought it to life with the drawling voice of the Overseer.  Residents of Vault 101, please report to the main hall. Anyone not present in 10 minutes will be escorted personally by security personnel. That will be all.

“Dad?” Lex turned to her father, giving him a worried look. He avoided her gaze, instead standing up and ushering her to quickly get to the hall. “Dad, what’s going on?”

“I’m not sure, sweetie.”

They walked down the halls, seeing everyone of the vault going the same way they were. Amata rushed to Lex when they caught each other’s eye. “Lex! There you are!”

“Amata, what’s going on?”

The other girl sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. “I don’t know. Father wouldn’t tell me.”

James ushered the two girls into the room, seating themselves near the exit. They watched as the rest of the vault filtered in, taking their own seats. Many whispers flooded the room, everybody looking around to their neighbors as they tried to figure out what was going on. Lex caught the eye of Freddie, gesturing a what’s happening look. The teen just shrugged and shook his head.

Finally, the Overseer walked in, Butch and his goons shoved through the door by officer Gomez right behind him. They were seated on the seats to the right of Lex and Amata, Lex sharing a glare with the gang leader. Butched flipped her off, Paul sneering next to him.

“You all may be wondering why I’ve brought you here.” The overseer started, taking his place at the front of the hall. “It has come to my attention that the residency of our Vault has gone below the minimum residence capacity since it was first built. Therefore, under Vault protocol, I am initiating Project Procreation. This means that any resident above 18 and under 30 will be paired with someone around the same age, in order to secure a safe and healthy pregnancy. Anyone who is on the cusp of turning 18 will also be paired, but not wedded yet..”

The Vault erupted into chaos, many of the horrified yelling coming from the younger group. Amata shot up from her seat, rushing over to her father before one of the officers held her back. The Tunnel Snakes next to Lex booed at the Overseer, Wally standing to his feet and marching out of the room.

Lex was frozen.

It was just like any other day in the vault. Complete hell.

* * *

Her body felt tingly and unreal. No matter how hard she tried to wrap her mind around the idea of being paired up and married off, she couldn’t process any good outcome. No matter how she looked at it, there was only a small possibility she would end with Freddy Gomez, the one male in the vault around her age that didn’t hate her guts or would hurt her. She also brought in the probability that, knowing the Overseer, he would pair Amata with Freddy, to keep her safe. Which left her with the Tunnel Snake goons who made her life living hell.

But what terrified her even more was of the idea of being pregnant. She never, in her entire life, thought of herself as someone who could give birth to a child. Hell, she never even thought of getting married being an option for her. She would joke with Amata that if it came down to it, they would marry each other so they wouldn’t have to deal with having one of the Tunnel Snakes as a husband.

Now that idea was out of the question, since, one: the overseer would never allow it and two: he was listing off the names at the moment.

He began to read the list in alphabetical order starting on the husband’s side. “Deloria, Butch..” He glanced up, his eyes scanning the crowd before stopping in the direction right across from where the future husband and father sat. A cold sweat ran down Lex’s spine, her eyes going wide and her face paling. No. No no no no no. Her hand gripped onto Amata’s arm, her fingers squeezing and pinching at her meat. Time seemed to slow down, watching as the Overseer’s mouth opened. “Valentino, Alexandria.”

The old man continued to read down the list, stopping every once in awhile at an outburst until he was finally finished.

She felt like crying, punching something, shooting something. But she couldn’t move. She was frozen in place, images of a younger Butch held in her arms swimming through her thoughts. The old man had planned this from the beginning. He hated her and her father the moment she was born. He would rather see her killed at the hands of her abuser than have her live another year.

“Now that all the pairings have been read, those who are  of age will be escorted tomorrow to sign marriage certificates. For now, you are all dismissed.”

As soon as the door was opened, Lex jumped from her seat, hopping off of the back of the bench and running out. Amata screamed after her but it was useless. She was gone.

* * *

Butch sat in one of the booths of the diner, shooting spit balls at Andy, the robot oblivious as usual to what was happening. The other members of his gang were currently with their “promised ones”, softening them up for their wedding or so Butch thought.

Out of all the girls, he had to be paired up with Nosebleed. He snorted, remembering how just the other day the two got into a fist fight and beat each other until they almost fell unconscious. Paul and Amata had broken them up, dragging each of them to Lex’s father’s office. He ended up with a broken lip, one that still stings at the moment, and busted knuckles. The bruising on his face was already healing as well.

Butch looked at the other two guys, now noticing that Paul wasn’t there. He dismissed it, returning to finishing his Nuka Cola and standing once he was done. He walked out of the diner and to his apartment, the other members not realizing him leaving.

Paul was lucky. He was paired with the Overseer’s daughter. The whole pairing was supposed to be chosen via compatible genetics and all that hoo ha, but Butch knew better. The Overseer rigged the pairing to protect his daughter. He rigged it to make life hell for the rest, and keep his precious baby girl safe.

The fucking irony of it all. To be paired up with her.

He couldn’t help but feel angry. Angry that he was played, like he’s just some puppet for the overseer. Not only him, however. He knew they were all getting played.

Lex. She and her dad would always get the worst end of it. He knew it, the whole vault knew it. Hell, some even tried to make it worse, he knew he did, Overseer’s orders or not. He couldn’t be mad at her though, at least not anymore.

In a few days he would be married to the nerd.

Just the thought made his stomach churn.

Marriage was never a thought that passed through the Tunnel Snake’s head. He always thought he would keep swinging from girl to girl until he was old and died. There wasn’t really anything solid he wanted to happen with his life, other than being a barber. Even that looked bleak, considering most vault resident hairstyles were simple and didn’t require much up-keep.

He was just another useless cog in the life of the Vault.


	3. Not Backing Down

Half a week passed before Lex was called out of her work early. She was tuning up Freddie’s pipboy, when the intercom came to life. Her name was barked out followed by an apartment room number where she would have to go. If she did not appear in 10 minutes, she would be escorted to the location personally by vault-tec security. **  
**

Her footsteps echoing in the metal hallways made her heart clench and a headache begin to grow, the sound a constant reminder that she was walking to her impending doom. The need to throw up grew when she spotted a leather clad shoulder peeking out from a corner, which was a stairwell down from the apartment number she was supposed to go to. When another leather shoulder appeared, followed by Wally Mac’s ugly mug, she felt sweat begin to form on her skin. He caught sight of Lex’s approaching form, nodding his head to the famed leader.

“They called you too, Nosebleed?” Butch grunted, turning his head to look at her. She ignored him, continuing down the stairs. I’ll take that as a yes.

The sound of footsteps behind her made Lex’s skin crawl. No matter what, she kept wishing the whole situation was a nightmare she would wake up from.

Once at the bottom of the stairs, Wally parted ways, eyeing Lex up and down. She shuddered in response, giving him her best glare. Butch passed her, shoving against her shoulder roughly. The sudden, rough contact almost made her gasp in fear.

In front of the apartment was Lex’s father, the Overseer, and Butch’s mom with a smile on her face. Lex wondered if she actually stayed sober for the marriage ‘ceremony’.

Behind the adults, two guards stepped out from the apartment, dusting their hands off.

“Hey honey.” James’ forced a smile, wrapping his arms around his daughter in a hug. Lex returned the hug back, the warmth of her father helping her ground herself before she lost focus of everything. His eyes glanced up as Butch passed the two, walking towards his mom. Ellen Deloria smiled, one of the biggest Lex or James ever saw on her, as she cupped her son’s face. Butch in turn groaned in embarrassment, pushing his mother’s hands away as she began to fret over how her son looked.

The Overseer coughed to get their attention, opening the door to the apartment. Once they all were inside, he explained that by Vault-Tec law, he would have to read the contract the two would have to abide to, under the new protocol project. “The parents/guardians of the newlyweds, if any alive at the time, would bear witness to the contract signing as well as move the wedded personal items into the new home of the two.”

Lex snapped her head up, eyes focusing in confusion at the Overseer. “In order to get everything going as fast as possible.” He explained, as if it were obvious. He continued, placing a piece of paper and pen on a small portable table a guard set up. “Signing this paper hereby verifies the two present today, who will be wedded, agree that under Overseer’s law and due to diminishing population, will be joined in ceremony, law and will share a life together as well as create a new one.”

Both Butch and Lex shuddered at the wording, disgust growing in their stomach. Butch glanced at his betrothed, noticing how much paler she was than usual. Betrothed. Wife. He grew sick at the thought of having Lex as anything like that.

“And if we refuse?” Lex’s voice echoed in the room, her eyes glaring at the old man talking. James hushed his daughter, elbowing her gently in the side. Her stare didn’t waver, the Overseer shifting his feet and clearing his throat.

“If you refuse, you will be placed in an already existing pair and shared. Is that what you want?” The old man’s voice did not waver, growing stern under her stare. He picked up the pen, handing it to Butch. “That only applies to the females. So don’t get any ideas, Deloria.”

That was a lie. He needed anybody to bring the population back up. The bigger the gene pool, the better.

Officer Gomez stepped in front of Lex, shaking a bag of metal rings. He gave her an apologetic smile. “Find your size.” She winced at his voice, peeking into the bag.

Lex shuddered, dropping the metal ring down her finger, the cold metal making her stomach churn at what it represented. Butch finished signing the paper, almost throwing the pen towards Lex. She stared at the ring on her finger a few seconds more before writing her full name on the paper. Her hand trembled at the end, quickly dropping the pen and pushing the paper towards the Overseer. The old man sneered at her before turning and leaving the two to their new home together. Butch immediately stood, marching out of the apartment going wherever Butch would usually go to cause trouble. Ellen Deloria sighed before walking out after her son.

James looked as if he wanted to say something to reassure his daughter despite the situation she was in. He knew, however, that his daughter was too smart to fall for any lie he told her. “Sweety..” He started, placing his hand in her smaller one. Lex refused to look anywhere else other than the floor. “I packed your BB gun. It’s at the bottom of your bag.”

A small smile cracked on Lex’s face, teary hazel eyes looking up at her father. “Thanks dad.”

James winced at the sound of his daughter’s voice cracking. He couldn’t imagine what might be running through her head right now as she planned on fighting the rest of her life. He coughed, placing a hand awkwardly on her shoulder. “If you make the decision, I can offer contraceptives or other.. Preventatives.”

They both winced at how it sounded. Lex nodded, of course, before she grew downcast at the sight of her father leaving. A sudden wave of anxiety pulsed through her, making her irritated at how depressing she got. If she was going to fight off Butch for the rest of her Vault life, she had to stay angry.

Lex grabbed her bag, the hidden BB gun tucked inside and went to the shooting range she used growing up.

As she rounded the corner she slammed right into Butch, falling onto the floor with the impact in which she collided. “Ow! What the fuck!” She rubbed at her healing nose, glaring up at the greaser. “What the fuck are you just standing there for?! Weren’t you going.. I don’t know somewhere not here!?” She screamed, standing up and tucking her bag strap over her shoulder. When all Butch did was stare, she shook her head and stormed off, shoving him out of the way.

Once at the staircase that lead to the hidden basement compartment, she jumped down the steps, slapping the top of the stairwell. Her boots slammed onto the metal floor, her fist almost punching and breaking the button to open the door. She breathed in through her nose and out her mouth, trying to calm down her rising emotions. She hardly ever got this riled up, not even when she was first scolded by her dad when she had a tantrum over her mother not being there for her growing up. She felt childish.

Pellets flew, hitting the metal cylinder marks over and over again. When she ran out, a bit calmer now, she slid to the floor. She felt stupid, hopeless. There was no way out of this situation, she would rot in the Vault until the day she died. Tears began to sting her eyes when her body shuddered at the thought of having to either give birth to one of her childhood bullies’ spawn, or die as the only Vault residents who never had a child and whose ‘spouse’ would definitely cheat on her. She’d be the laugh of the whole Vault.

The sound of the door sliding open snapped her out of her fit, causing her to quickly wipe her eyes and hide her BB gun back into the bag she brought it in. “Lex?” Amata’s voice calmed her nerves, a sigh of relief escaping her lungs.

“I’m over here, Amata.” She spoke up, standing to peek over the containers she usually hides behind. A jolt of surprise shook her body when she saw Paul next to her, the presence of the Tunnel Snake causing her anxiety to rise again. “What–”

Before Lex could blubber at the betrayal, Amata rushed over and grabbed hold of her best friend’s hands. “Lex, calm down. I was partnered with Paul.. but he’s on our side I promise.”

At this, Lex looked from Amata to Paul who sluggishly rubbed at the back of his head. He nodded. “Oh hun, you look awful..” Amata gingerly rubbed at Lex’s face, feeling her swelling eyes. “Listen.. I convinced Paul to help you–”

“Help me how?”

Her best friend’s gaze dropped, her features turning solemn. Paul walked forward when Amata glanced at him. “I know how Butch can get. If he’s not in the best of moods, I can send a message to you as a warning, that way you can get away before anything can happen.”

A wave of relief washed over Lex, her shoulders dropping. “I can handle Butch in a fight… but thanks Paul. I.. I really appreciate it.” She smiled at Paul, who in turn blushed and looked away.

* * *

Lex held back a gag at how gross she felt. After she hung out with Amata and her new, pretty cool fiance, she said goodbye and started working on a small project she had down there. The result of it causing her to be covered in old oil. She carefully stepped out of her hideaway, looking around to make sure not to get caught by security. The dim lighting of the hallways told her she was already past curfew. She had to be careful heading home.

She turned once up the stairs, making a beeline to the clinic doors. She swiped her key card, cursing when a loud denial beep came from the lock. Right. This isn’t my house anymore. Lex sighed in frustration, unpinning the bun she had and running her dirty hands through it.

She really did not want to go to her new ‘home’. Considering what time it was, she assumed her father had already fallen asleep, either in his bed or still in the clinic. Either way she wouldn’t be able to go in without setting off an alarm.

So she turned, begrudgingly walking quietly home while avoiding any security currently on duty. A relieved sigh came out of her when she saw that the lights were turned off once she was inside. Either Butch was already asleep, or he wasn’t home. Considering it was Butch she was talking about, she bet on the latter.

Hoping to be lucky, she quickly undressed and rushed inside the bathroom, making sure to lock the door once inside.

The warm water felt heavenly on her skin, letting the warmth rain down on her to pool in her hands before she splashed it on the floor. She scrubbed diligently at her skin, grimacing as she saw the grime slide onto the floor. In a few minutes she turned off the water, grabbing a towel. Since they were given a new apartment, they were given new “recycled” household items. And, by the looks of it, Butch hadn’t broken any of the new items in yet. Lucky her.

Once most of the fog cleared up, Lex groaned when she realized she had no change of clean clothes. She opened the bathroom door, peeking out to make sure the coast was clear. With the towel wrapped around her, and cold air blasting at her damp skin and hair, she stepped out towards her bag where her clothes were.

She heaved the duffel’s strap over her shoulder, quickly making it towards the bedroom. Every few seconds she would glance over her shoulder toward the door, paranoid that Butch would walk in on her half naked.

Just as that thought passed through her mind for the third time, the door to their apartment opened, Butch standing in the middle of it.

They stood there, both staring at each other in the eyes in shock. Butch’s eyes travelled down her body, soaking in the sight. As her skin began to crawl, the front door to the apartment closed shut, footsteps letting her know that Butch walked off.

 _Oh crap.._ Was the only thing running through her mind. That and ideas of turning household items into weapons to defend herself with.

She spent the next half hour trying to find a way to lock the door permanently. That failed. All of her supplies were in her work room and her secret compartment. The only tool in the apartment complex was a screwdriver much too big to fiddle unscrew the door locks.

“Why must this happen to me?”

Hoping and dreading to just get it over with, Lex waited for Butch to return. She still wore the towel, thinking it would make things less terrifying than Butch stripping her of anything else she put on. This way, she could at least put something clean on afterwards.

Half an hour passed and Butch still hadn’t returned. A small bit of hope began to grow inside of Lex, trumpets of triumph bellowing in her small possible victory. She could cherish another day she had with her purity.

Just to make sure.. She stood and quickly walked to the apartment door, scanning through the window that the Tunnel Snake hadn’t returned or was loitering nearby. When she made sure he wasn’t, she quickly locked the front door and ran back into the bedroom, locking that door as well. She quickly dressed in her nightwear and jumped into bed, covering all of her after turning the lights off. With how much of a terrible person Butch was, maybe the rules that were meant towards monsters that hid in the dark and under children’s beds applied to him as well. 

Either way, being completely covered in blankets made Lex realize she’s never felt safe from the boogeyman.


	4. The Days to Come

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Slight mention of pedophilia, domestic abuse and racism. Anxious and slight depressive thoughts followed by violence/domestic abuse*

_Tears rolled down her chubby cheeks, her small hands frantically trying to rip out the pink goo from her hair. Butch laughed and pointed at her, the pink gum he was chewing blowing into a big bubble. The pink orb grew and grew until it exploded and covered all of her._ **  
**

_Lex began to cry again, ripping the stuff away from her face. She was older now, but she was still crying. Butch was still a child in every shape and form, pointing and laughing at her in the dark. His small, younger face taunted her from where he stood, provoking her with the nickname he gave her._

_She tried and tried again to pull herself out of the gum encasement she was stuck in, her constant fruitless efforts only making the child Butch to laugh harder._

_“You’re pathetic mom!”_

Lex woke up with a start. She was freezing and her chest was covered in sweat.

She dreamt about Butch and their.. child. The face she dreamt of was quickly disappearing but the imprint of the dream was still fresh in her mind. Lex grimaced but was relieved to find out that the spot next to her on the bed remained untouched. On one hand she was relieved that Butch didn’t come home. On the other hand, knowing Butch, he was probably passed out somewhere drunk and would return sometime soon hungover and pissed.

And he would take out his anger on her like he always would.

He won’t lay a hand on me. Lex thought to herself, strengthening her resolve. She took in a deep breath, laying back on the bed.

There were still a few hours left for her to sleep before the day would start and she would have to blend in with Vault society. Being one of the first few to get married under Project Protocol meant she and her spouse were to be under constant surveillance to ensure no fall outs would occur between the couple. The surveillance would also be to keep tabs on any possible pregnancies in order to prepare the family and the Vault for a new member.

The image of a younger Butch laughing and calling her mom resurfaced in her thoughts again, causing nausea to rise to her throat. Her head spun as she tried to occupy her thoughts with anything else that wasn’t Butch while she also tried to go back to sleep.

Minutes passed. A long drawn out breath pushed out from her lungs.

Lex dreaded the day that was to come.

-//-

Butch groaned awake, turning on his mother’s couch. The blanket he borrowed was halfway off the couch.

He had surprised his mother late the night before when he knocked on her door and asked if he could sleep here. She had teased him if he already got into a fight with his wife to which he just shook his head and passed out on the couch.

It wasn’t that they didn’t get into a fight, he just didn’t want to cause a fight to happen. He hated the idea of a husband beating his wife. No man should lay his hand on a woman.

That of course, was a bit hypocritical of him to think, considering he and Lex fought since she turned 10. He never pictured her as a girl back then, just Lex. But now that they were married, the image he had of her from before was completely warped. There were also some concealed images of her from before that he got exposed to last night.

Butch dragged his hand down his face at what he remembered from last night.

Lex was naked, that night. She had come out of the shower when he made it to their new home, the girl who clearly wasn’t just a girl anymore, wearing nothing but a towel. He admitted, he took a good long look at what she had to offer.

Her skin was evenly tanned, just slightly darker than himself. She had legs for days, the long limbs only disappearing once they reached the hem of the towel.

His heart almost convulsed in his chest when he walked in on her dressing up last night. He forced himself to look away and go to his mother’s house, having noticed the frozen, horrified expression Lex had on her face. That was Nosebleed he had been eyeing up and down.

Butch wanted to scratch at his eyes. Those damn legs of hers made his heart flutter in a way that would put a boy going through puberty to shame. It was embarrassing.

The alarm on his pipboy snapped him out of his loathing, pushing himself off of the couch and heading towards the bathroom. He could at least wash up his face before heading back towards his new apartment to get ready. All of his stuff was over there anyways.

“And here I thought I was pissed drunk, imagining you came home last night.” Ellen joked from the bathroom door, Butch looking at her through the mirror.

“Sorry for bothering you Ma.” Butch laughed, washing the suds of soap from his face. There was a small smile on Ellen’s face.

“Not a way a newlywed should spend his honeymoon, but I won’t object. I got to spend time with my baby boy one last time.” The mother teased before she walked away towards the kitchen.

Butch scoffed, patting down his face with a towel. _Honeymoon_. Sure. Ellen called from the kitchen, Butch just barely catching she was talking to him. “What was that Ma?”

“I said, are you going to stay for breakfast? You’re going to be late to work if you don’t move your butt out of here!” Butch checked the time again, cussing under his breath at the time. He gave his mother a quick kiss on the forehead before he rushed out, grabbing his Tunnel Snake jacket from the couch on his way out.

He didn’t mind being late to work all that much, considering hardly anybody stopped by the shop. As long as he made it before he missed the first hour of work he should be fine.

When his apartment came into view, Butch slowed down, pulling out his key card from his jacket pocket. The door opened quickly, revealing an empty house. _Nosebleed must have left already for work._ He thought, quickly going to his untouched box of belongings, pulling out a clean shirt and jumpsuit as well his hair supplies.

Once inside, he slipped out of his day old jumpsuit and switched to the clean one for the day. Making sure to keep an eye on the time, Butch began to work on building his hair, expertly combing through it to get it to the perfect height.

While he fixed a few parts that didn’t seem to want to cooperate with him today, Butch began to notice little things around the bathroom that showed where Lex had left her mark.

There was a permanently stained brownish towel hanging off of the bathroom sink, one she would used when she would come home from work he assumed. On the other corner of the sink was a small yellow cup with a toothbrush in it, the bristles already bending with how much force she probably used when brushing her teeth. Now that Butch thought back on it, whenever they would get in each other’s face he never noticed if she had bad breath or not. Then again, he was too busy taunting her for a fight to even notice.

20 minutes left until the first hour was over and Butch finished with his hair. He placed his comb and pomade inside the mirror cabinet, finding more lingering traces of Lex. There was a small comb similar to his on the top shelf, right alongside to a bigger bristlier brush. With the amount of hair tangled in with the bristles he could already tell how damaged her hair was.

Butch quickly finished up brushing his teeth, spitting out the leftover in his mouth, and placing his dental supplies inside the mirror on the bottom shelf away from Lex’s things.

Quickly making his way towards the barbershop, Butch felt odd after finding out a little bit of Lex without actually talking to her. It was a bit unsettling, like he was snooping around and digging through her personal belongings. Which he didn’t, he just made small observations through the things she left in the open.

As usual, the shop was empty. There were a few drawbacks to being the only barber in the vault. Opening and closing up shop by yourself as well as little to no customers on days at a time.

“So you decided on opening today after all.”

Butch turned to the door, seeing that Officer Wolfe walked in, already making himself comfortable on the first chair in the row. The young barber barely managed to turn the lights in the shop on before the Security Officer turned on the radio in front of him himself. “Make yourself comfortable why don’t you?” Butch muttered the last part, grabbing a few supplies from the supply cache in the back. “How may I help you out today, Officer?”

Either the officer did not hear the uninterest in the barber’s voice or he chose to ignore it. “Just a shave.”

Confused about what the other wanted to get shaved, Butch proceeded to get the tools ready, hoping the already bald man would give him insight on what he wanted shaved. When the security officer leaned back on the chair, Butch then began to work.

“Y’know, most recently married folk tend to spend a few days indoors.” Wolfe commented, the words causing annoyance to wash over Butch. “How did that go for you?”

Butch snorted, unsheathing the shaving razor and bringing it close to the security officer’s neck. The topic was making Butch uncomfortable, due to the fact that 1. the thought of boning the most annoying girl in the vault made him want to heave and 2. Officer Wolfe seemed way too interested in the topic of his sex life.

Once the blade pulled away from a freshly shaved patch of skin, Wolfe sighed. “I got to say though, that Lex. You got the good end of a deal there, kid.” Butch’s eyebrows creased in growing disgust. He did not like the way the conversation was going. Wolfe whistled. “She grew some sweet pair of legs. I knew, the moment she started growing up she would get that sexy Latina fire all Hispanic girls get.”

The borderline pedophilic conversation made Butch almost upchuck what little he had in his stomach. He had to hurry and finish before he really vomited on the job. Wolfe was known for his violent nature but nobody ever knew just how far his depravities went.

“I’m sure she’s going to fill in that jumpsuit in no time too. With an ass like that, why not the front too, am I right?”

“Sure.” Butch offered, quickly and cleanly shaving off the rest of the stubble. Wolfe looked in the mirror, checking himself over.

With a snort, the bald man looked at Butch through the mirror. “You say sure, but you and I both know that you’re lying. You don’t care.” Butch paused as he cleaned the tools off, a chill running down his spine. The officer remained seated in the chair, his face now void of emotions. “If she doesn’t cooperate with you and goes against your will, against the protocols rules, you force her to obey you.” Wolfe stood then, checking the others handiwork one more time. “And if you happen to stay over at your moms place again kid, be prepared for all three of you to be payed a visit.”

“As if you’d do anything.” Butch snapped, the words rushing out of his mouth. “You won’t lay a hand on any of us test subjects.”

A loud crack sounded within the shop, followed by pain flaring up from Butch’s right hand. The police baton used lay still on top of Butch’s crushed fingers, occasionally adding pressure to the injury. “Don’t think I won’t.” Wolfe sneered, pulling away and marching out the shop.

“Fuck!”

Cussing did nothing to ebb the pain away. As he tried to move the crushed fingers the pain only managed to flair up even more, confirming that at least two were broken. Butch let go of the razor he kept a death grip on, the metal clattering against the counter top. _That fucking asshole! He broke my fucking fingers!_

The meaning of the threat slowly sunk in. If Wolfe broke his fingers to prove to what measures he was willing to go, then what he would be willing to do to his mother would be far more extreme than a few broken fingers.

Chills ran down his spine, the need to check on his mother overriding any pain as he left the shop.

He quickly rushed down the corridors, his footsteps echoing in the hall. When he rounded the corner, Butch almost crashed into Lex and Amata who for some reason decided to block the whole hallway.  Before Butch could threaten them, Amata noticed him and gasped at what she saw.

“Butch holy crap, your hand!” Her shrieking voice hurt his ears, only making him even more irritated. Lex turned slowly, her eyes already wide before she looked where her best friend was looking. A wave of seriousness changed the doctor’s daughter in a second, Butch noticing the hesitation to touch him.

“Get out of my way.” He growled, trying to push his way through. Pain flared up his hand when it brushed against one of the girls, he didn’t know which. He ignored the pain the best he could before continuing down the hall. He could hear Amata yelling something at him, a second and third set of footsteps following after him.

Before he could round the corner to his mother’s house, Butch caught sight of Officer Wolfe nearing the apartment. He quickly followed after, ducking behind a corner to see if he did anything.

“Butch–” Amata spoke, Butch glaring at her to shut up as he spied on the officer. Fear poked at his chest, his heart hammering away inside his chest in anger.

“Wolfe.” Ellen said, annoyance clearly in her voice. Butch held in a breath. Wolfe’s face wasn’t visible at the angle Butch was in, but his mother was in plain sight. Any detection of fear on her face and Butch would get ready to defend her.

“Wait, what’s Officer Wolfe doing talking to Butch’s mom?” Amata whispered next to Butch, peeking from behind his shoulder. Lex shook her head at her friend.

“I don’t know, but I guess now we know who did that to Butch’s hand.” Lex whispered back. The barber ignored the two girls, paying complete attention to what was in front of him.

“Your threats don’t scare me Wolfe.” Ellen spat, turning to head back inside. Butch quickly rushed from behind the corner, pulling out his switchblade when Wolfe shoved the older woman to the floor.

Butch charged at the security officer, yelling at him to draw his attention. “Keep your hands off of her, asshole!”

Wolfe turned his head to Butch, sneering when he saw him. Before Butch could to any damage, Wolfe’s meaty arm came crashing down against Butch’s face, effectively elbowing him down to the ground. Ellen screamed for her son, watching in horror as Wolfe’s foot came down against the hand he injured earlier. Butch howled in pain, trying his best to kick at the bald man.

“So, came for round two, huh?” Wolfe taunted, stepping back to pull out his baton. Butch’s eyes widened when it came down against his knee, the pain that followed causing him to scream. Ellen whimpered at the sight of her son, drawing the attention back towards her.

Before he could even step a foot toward Ellen, a loud battle cry echoed in the hall. Butch caught sight of feet running past him, watching as the person they belonged to leapt onto Wolfe’s back.

“Get away from her you asswipe!” Lex screamed, digging her nails into the skin of Wolfe’s neck and face. Her legs tightened around Wolfe’s waist as the man began to struggle against her attack.

Butch dragged himself towards his mother while Lex tried to pull Wolfe away. She landed a punch at his chin before she was flung off. Ellen gasped, drawing Butch’s attention away from his mother and towards the two fighting.

Wolfe slammed down his baton, Lex rolling to the side and dodging it, allowing her to swoop her leg against Wolfe’s own. The older security yelped as he fell, slamming his head against the floor. Butch looked at the girl’s handiwork, impressed at her overpowering the cruel security guard.

As Wolfe made to get up, Amata appeared around the corner with Officer Gomez right behind her. At the sight of all four of them on the ground, Amata screamed for her friend quickly rushing over to her. Officer Gomez stood between Wolfe and Butch and his mother.

“You alright Butch? Ellen?” Ellen nodded, speechless at what just occurred. Wolfe stood, shaking himself off. He made to open his mouth only for Officer Gomez to interrupt him. “You’ve done enough damage here, Wolfe. Get out of here.”

Spitting at the other Officer’s feet, Wolfe walked away, disappearing down the hallway.

Ellen placed a gentle hand on her son’s own, her trembling words barely reaching his ears. “Thank you Lex..” she breathed, looking up at the girl already standing.

“All in a day’s work.” Lex joked, clearly out of breath. She sighed before hesitantly speaking up again. “Can you stand, Butch?”

At his name, Butch turned to Lex, eyeing her before shaking his head. He felt his knee jam when the baton hit him. At his answer, Officer Gomez helped him up, placing his arm around his shoulders for support. Butch watched as Lex helped his mother from the ground, making sure she wasn’t hurt as well. “C’mon Butch. We’ll take you to the clinic to get you patched up.”

Butch began to hesitate, worry growing in his chest. Amata stepped forward. “I’ll watch over your mom Butch.”

With that, Lex, Butch and officer Gomez made their way to the clinic. It felt awkward for Butch, this being the first time meeting Lex after getting an eyeful from the night before. He wondered if she felt just as awkward being next to him as well. Accepting the risk, he tentatively glanced next to him. Almost immediately Lex caught him looking at her, both quickly looking away.

When they reached the clinic, Lex stepped forward to open it. The place was empty. “Dad?” Lex called, going to the back where their apartment was located. Where her old apartment was, anyway. Officer Gomez placed Butch down on the medical bed, Butch sitting upright when Lex came back. “He’s not here. Probably making an in-house call or something.” She said, her hands wringing in worry. Officer Gomez nodded.

“I’ll go look for him.” he offered, already halfway out the door. Lex spluttered nonsense before the door slid shut in her face. She sighed, turning around but avoiding eye contact with Butch.

When Butch woke up that morning he wasn’t expecting to get two possible broken bones by lunch. Now he was sitting awkwardly in his ‘wife's’  old home, staring down at the floor. Another aggravated sigh caused him to look up, watching as Lex marched toward him with a serious look. It made him a bit nervous.

“Give me your hand.” She declared, offering her open hand as a place to put it. He blinked at her, giving her a confused expression before raising his arm up. Her eyes immediately looked down toward it, her eyes widening at how bad it looked. “You should have told me you were bleeding..” she grumbled, walking away.

Once she was gone, busy looking through a cabinet for supplies, Butch looked down at his injured hand. His fingers were heavily bruised, his middle finger bent at an odd angle while the other he thought was broken looked completely normal. He was surprised at the large cut on his palm and thumb. Thinking back, he realized he must have cut himself with the razor he used before dropping it onto the counter.

Lex quickly appeared in front of him, causing Butch to flinch backward as she placed the metal tray down next to him. “This is going to sting.” was the only warning she gave him before wiping a drenched cotton gauze around the cut.

Butch screamed, grinding curses through his clenched teeth as Lex cleaned closer and closer to the cut. He tried to yank his hand away only for Lex to press firmly against his arm, keeping him in place. Once she finished cleaning it she began to stitch the wound closed, quickly sewing it shut before Butch could struggle against her hold any more than he already was.

The door slid open just as Lex began to wrap a surgical gauze around his hand. James walked in, surprised to see his daughter and her ‘husband’ at such a close distance. “Dad can you check these stitches and make sure their not too loose?” Lex asked, unwrapping the gauze a bit for the doctor to see. When her father gave her the ok, she wrapped the hand, securing the end of the gauze with a clip. Lex quickly stitched up the thumb next before stepping aside for her father to work.

“Now Butch,” James started, placing his hands in his pockets. “Aside from your stitches, where else are you hurt?”

The on edge tone the doctor spoke in annoyed Butch. Then again, why would he want to treat his daughter’s then-bully and now arranged-marriage husband? It wasn’t his fault the Overseer hated them.

“His fingers are crushed, and I think his knee is dislocated.” Lex spoke up, eyeing Butch warily at his silence. At an irritated glare directed towards her, she looked away, continuing to place the items she used away in the clinic’s shelves.

The doctor quickly looked over the body parts his daughter mentioned. Butch waited, anxiously expecting the doctor to snap his knee in place. Once the doctor turned his attention to Butch’s fingers, his expression changed. “Well Butch, lucky for you your knee is fine, just a bit bruised up. Nothing dislocated there. Ice it for now, but if it continues to hurt after a week come back and I’ll take a look at it.” James sighed, examining the others fingers again. “Your fingers on the other hand will need splints for them to properly heal correctly.”

That was obvious. Butch groaned, looking down at his crooked fingers. The doctor walked away to collect a few things, asking his daughter for something before both returning to his side.

“Try not to squirm.” The doctor smiled, turning to his daughter and nodding.

Lex reluctantly held down Butch’s shoulders, forcing him down as her father began to realign the digits. Butch jumped and struggled before succumbing to the other keeping him down, barely moving once the doctor moved on to the second finger.

By the end, Butch was sweating heavily and looking a bit green. It took Lex all she had not to laugh. “You feeling alright there, Butch?” She teased, trying to get a better look at his face from her spot behind him. His brows creased when he began to try to shove her off of him with his good hand.

“Alright.” James interjected, finishing up applying the splints to Butch’s fingers. “I’m going to prescribe you some Med-X just in case you or someone happens to injure your fingers while they heal.”

Butch grumbled, stepping off from the clinic bed.

The intercom crackled on, the Overseer’s droning voice filling every inch of the vault clinic as well as any hall and room. “Hello residents of Vault 101.” The sound of a door closing sounded from the intercom, the Overseer pausing before speaking again. “There will be a new set of rules implemented into the current project at hand. From now on,” He cleared his voice, shuffling a few papers. “All married partners must, from now on, reside in their new homes at night for the next 5 months to ensure procreation. This rule will only be lifted early if half or more of the selected female residents are expecting. Fraternization between members of the opposite sex will no longer be allowed, unless the female fraternizing is pregnant.  Failure to follow these rules will result in severe punishment as well as house arrest for the pairs.”

Lex’s face fell, turning expressionless at the information. The Overseer’s hold was tightening around the innocent people just trying to live.

“There will also be inspections from now on, to ensure progression with the project.” The Overseer continued. “If in the next three weeks to the next month, a pair still does not appear to have gotten closer or intimate, the pairing will be dissolved and the female will be paired with a male from a different age group.”

Lex ran.

She ran out of the clinic, passed her father, and kept running.

Fear was fueling every inch of her being.  

She didn’t stop when someone called for her, when she almost knocked passersby over, and didn’t stop when she was falling down stairs. She got up and kept running until she shut herself in to her secret spot.

Her knees stung from the fall, her hands scraped and cut when she forced herself to continue running.

It was in moments like these where she realized just how small and suffocating the Vault really was. Her breaths were coming out short, and her limbs were shaking.

All she wanted to do was hide. Hide from the world, from the Vault, from everybody.

Moments passed before footsteps sounded from outside the storage compartment, the silence breaking noise causing Lex to flinch in fear. She hid behind a metal container, ducking back just in time as the door slid open.

The heavy footsteps came closer, the person invading her sanctuary stopping next to where she was hiding.  

“This is just sad.” Butch’s voice echoed in the room, that annoying tone of his back in his words. “I guess that thing you did back there was just for show, huh? Should’ve guessed you weren’t so tough.”

“Shut up Butch.”

The Tunnel Snake snickered, that annoying sound grating every nerve in Lex’s body.

When Butch took a step forward, Lex flinched and quickly stood, her whole body tensing up. Her fists were balled at her sides, her whole posture screaming retaliation. He knew he was going to regret this moment later on.

“C’mon **girl** –”

His voice caused her to snap. Before he could finish what he wanted to say her hands latched onto his jacket, slamming him against the wall behind them. He grunted in pain, opening his eye to see her raise her fist.

Lex was shoved off with a careful kick, pulling Butch along with her to the floor. He tried to unlatch her hands from his jacket, only causing them to roll around on the floor. The air was knocked out of him when Lex successfully claimed top, his hands still fumbling to get her off.   

The fist quickly came down with just enough force to split Butch’s lip open. Before Lex could get ready for another punch, Butch latched onto her arms, effectively holding them in place. “Why won’t you fight back?!” Lex screamed, struggling to rip her arms away. The greaser below her finally gave her an icy glare, one that chilled her to the bone.

“Ya wanna know?! 'Cuz the moment you signed those papers I tried to see you in a different light, so I wouldn’t become one of those gross husbands who hurt their old lady!”

Lex stopped struggling, her balled fists beginning to shake in Butch’s hold. She felt conflicted. If her own childhood bully had that mentality since the beginning, did that make her the one in the wrong? Since the beginning, despite how much Butch avoided her, it was always her picking a fight. With others, with Butch himself, and even with security. She felt she was a victim, but she failed to see how others were taking it. She wasn’t the only one going through a major change. There were others who were paired with the rest of the Tunnel Snakes, who were also forced to make amends for the good of the Vault.

Butch watched as his words caused an effect on the girl above him. Her face changed from anger to shock, resistance to realization.

The tears were a surprise.

“Fuck..” Lex whimpered, covering her face with her fists. She rubbed at her eyes, trying to wipe away any tears before they fell.

Butch shifted in unease, letting go of the others hands. “Look.. I know I’m the last person you ever thought of shacking up with, especially considering the crap we did as kids..” He shifted again, one of his hands running through his hair. This was incredibly awkward. “But if you agree to a truce, I promise I won’t do anything and we can pass those inspections.” Lex looked at him, a questioning looking on her face. He sighed, moving his hand over his heart. “Cross my heart.”

His annoyed tone was what made Lex believe him. Despite the risk of being found out, Butch really didn’t want anything to do with her.

The door to the storage slid open, the Overseer and Officer Wolfe standing at the entrance. Lex paled at the sudden appearance of the older men, taken completely by surprise. Butch turned to look at the two, waiting for them to say anything.

The Overseer coughed, “Well, and here I thought you two wouldn’t get along.” Wolfe was shoved to the side as the Overseer turned to leave. “Seems there’s nothing to worry about.”

Wolfe took one last look at Lex before he turned and left, the door closing behind them. Butch grimaced, sticking his tongue out in disgust. Lex on the other hand completely crumpled in exhaustion, leaning heavily on Butch below her. The Tunnel Snake, surprised, flinched and shoved her off, quickly standing and dusting himself off.

“Whatever. I’m gonna go sleep in **my** bed.” He said, opening the door. “If you decide on breaking the rules or not is **your** problem. Not that I care since you’ll be the one in trouble for once.”

Lex watched Butch’s back as he left the room. The ball of anxiety she had growing in the pit of her stomach quickly began to shrink once she was left alone with her thoughts. Despite the rough, trouble maker attitude Butch had, he was, dare she say, a pretty ok guy. Lex guesses it was his mother’s influence that had to do with his mindset.

After a while of just sitting there, she stood and began to walk out the door back to her– **no, their** – apartment.

 _Tomorrow is another day._ Lex thought, sighing to herself as she climbed the steps to the upper levels.

What she didn’t know, was that Butch was thinking the exact same thing.

_**Tomorrow is another day.** _


	5. The Exception

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is where the #slowburn begins lmao

The next few days went relatively smoothly. Both Butch and Lex agreed on sleeping arrangements and on not invading the others zone when sleeping. It amused Lex how much of a stickler Butch actually was to privacy and personal space considering how up close and personal the two would get when they used to fight. **  
**

Somehow, it felt like Butch was just leading her around and telling her what not to touch or move that was his. She felt like a child.

It soon grew old and she decided to start moving things again as she pleased the next day.

Even though they both agreed on a truce to not fight, they squabbled constantly. In their own home, as well as whenever they were forced to interact together within the Vault.

Others soon began to refer to them both as the bickering old couple as they were ignorant to the true discomfort they had for each other. They thought it was just for show.

It wasn’t until Janice, who was known for floating around Butch before the project was established, muttered under her breath and called Lex the ‘nagging old wife’ did the term begin to stick.

It also caused Vault Security to keep a closer eye on them since it seemed that they were one of the few paired to show closeness early on.

“This is getting ridiculous.” Lex stated, slamming her hands on the dinner table. Butch raised an eyebrow at her outburst, continuing to drink from his whiskey bottle. “Because of your old flame’s jealousy, security has been eyeing us whenever we’re apart and near each other! I don’t get what else they expect from us!”

Butch scoffed, screwing closed the spirit bottle. “She never was an old flame, first of all.” He tossed the bottle back into the fridge right behind him, taking out a box of Fancy Lad snack cakes in the process. “Also, what else do you expect? They’re eyeing every girl up and down for a baby bump.”

Lex made a face. “It’s barely been a month, no girl would be showing if she were pregnant.”

Butch snickered, mid bite. His eyes danced between the small cake and Lex who was giving him a knowing look. “Maybe I should just stuff you with these so you get nice and **_fat_**.”

“You’re an idiot.” She sighed. A mini cake landed in her mouth just before she closed it, Butch doubling over in laughter at his success. Lex ate the cake with disdain, shaking her head at the giggling idiot she was stuck with. When Lex began to walk away from the table and towards the exit, Butch tossed another cake, the small pastry landing in the opening of her jumpsuit. She squealed in surprise at the cake sliding down her clothes. “You asshole!” She screamed, throwing the now crushed cake at Butch who promptly caught it in his mouth. Lex shook her head at the smug look he had on his face and left, closing the door behind her.

Lex didn’t know exactly where to go, but she didn’t want to be in the same room or vicinity as Butch. Just when she thought she could keep her cool, he goes and irritates her. At least it wasn’t in public for any onlookers to witness her storming off.

Sometimes Lex felt like the truce he made was all a lie just to make her look stupid.

No. He couldn’t be smart enough to have created a whole masterplan by himself that would ruin her entire life. Could he?

“Oh, Lexie!” Old lady Palmer’s voice called for her from a room down the hall, her waving hand flagging her down. Lex quickly sped up, approaching the old woman with mild curiosity. “Will you be joining us for class today, dear?”

Lex looked inside, taking in a quick view of what the class was about. Her father was inside, speaking to a few of the girls who were writing things down. His eyes did not catch hers when he looked up to help another girl. They were in the middle of a maternity class, to be better prepared for the inevitable. It made her feel uneasy.

“No, I don’t think so.” Lex spoke quietly, hoping to avoid alerting her father. The old woman looked at her with sympathy, a small smile letting her know it was ok.  They both nodded to each other through their mutual understanding before Lex continued down the hall, towards the stairs that led to her sanctuary.

 _Though it’s not much of a sanctuary now, since Butch found me there. He’ll probably end up hiding out there with his gang and claim it as his soon, I can feel it._ She mused, grumbling to herself.

Before she was able to reach the staircase, a leather clad back graced her path and effectively blocked it, preventing her from going any further.

Wally Mack, oblivious to her presence, continued to chat with Paul. The other hadn’t noticed her either, his expression showing Lex that he wasn’t too pleased at what he was hearing. _Whatever. It doesn’t matter what they’re talking about. If they get in my way, they’re going to get it._

When Lex was a foot away from the two, both Wally and Paul looked up. Wally’s face turned dark, his mouth turning upwards into a sneer. Paul, on the other hand, remained neutral although apprehensive. “Well well, if it isn’t Poindexter herself.” Wally’s voice felt like acid on her skin, his annoying voice sounding murderous. Any other time, it would have put her on alert for a fight. Now, however, she put on an air of ignorance.

“What do you want.” The tone in her voice turned out more distant than she expected. Without waiting for a reply, she continued walking, trying to squeeze past the two Tunnel Snakes.

Wally, of course, was having none of it.

“What, you think now that you’re Butch’s baby mama you think we’ll stop?” he hissed, grabbing her arm and pulling her. “Butch doesn’t care about you.”

Lex rolled her eyes at his words. Before she could retort with how much she didn’t care, a hand clasped her shoulder and pulled her back. Wally’s face quickly fell, his eyebrows remaining furrowed in annoyance.  

Butch spit out a toothpick he had in his mouth at Wally’s face. “Scram. Both of you.”

Before Wally could open his mouth again, Butch cut in, his voice a lot graver and louder than before. “Get lost!”

It was a sight to see, watching both Wally and Paul quickly fleeing. It always seemed like Wally was the one who was in charge, but despite all that, Butch was clearly still top dog. Or snake. Whatever.

Butch shifted on his feet, scanning around them for anyone who could see. He dropped his arm from her shoulder when the coast was clear. “If you’re going to be talking to guys, I should at least be nearby so they think it was me talking to them.”

The anxiety was clear on Butch’s face despite how annoyed he sounded. It was a bit off putting until his words began to make sense. “That way it makes it seem we just ran into the other by happenstance. Not bad Butch.. Smart thinking.” Lex nodded. Butch blushed at the compliment, a cocky grin now on his face. It actually did surprise her how smart of an idea that was. For Butch to find a loophole in the rules was surprising. “Alright, bye!” Lex waved, a faux smile on her face.

The Tunnel Snake sputtered behind her, his quick footsteps letting her know he was following behind. “Where do you think you’re going?” He called after her.

Lex had no intention of stopping. “Away from you. Where else?” She shrugged, stepping into the stairwell.

A loud pained scream echoed in the hall, both Lex and Butch jumping at the shrill sound. The two looked at each other in surprise before another deafening screech blasted down the Vault, both now hurriedly looking for the source of the noise.

The screaming only grew louder as the two rushed down the corridor, spotting a gathering crowd in front of a set of apartments. It was Freddie and Janice. Well, it was mostly Freddie. Janice was inside throwing her partner’s belongings into the hall, screaming obscenities at the same time.

Freddie was also naked for some reason.

“You take your things, Freddie Gomez, and stay far away from me!” Janice screamed between throws, successfully hitting Freddie in the face with his own vault suit. When the naked male slipped and fell, the hand that was barely covering his private area moved in order to catch himself from slamming to the floor, thus causing the small crowd to laugh at his misfortune. The other two girls who happened to be there gasped at Freddie’s reveal, looking away with flushed faces before they ran away, fearing they would get caught breaking one of the project’s newly implemented rules. Lex held back a laugh as she watched the girls retreat, quickly turning back to the drama once Janice began to scream obscenities again.

“I’ve tried–” A box was thrown. “So hard–” Freddie was hit with a pillow. “To start something–” Another vault suit landed on Freddie’s face. “And all you have to offer–” Freddie falls over again trying to put on the vault suit. “Is that flaccid thing?!”

By now all the men, including Butch, were hollering at the scene going down. A part of Lex felt pity for Freddie. But that still didn’t stop her from laughing as he fell for the second time trying to get his foot in his vault suit.

Not long after all of Freddies things were scattered in the hallway, security officers began to arrive. Lex quickly hid behind Butch in order to not be spotted amongst members of the opposite sex as the two older men assessed the situation.  Now that security arrived, Janice shut up and began to sport a red face of shame for causing a scene.

“What seems to be the problem here Janice?” Officer Park asked, glancing from the mess on the floor, to Freddie who was still struggling with his vault suit, to Janice who looked like all she wanted to do was hide in her apartment.

“She’s crazy–!!” Freddie started, Officer Wolfe shooting him a glare to shut him up. Park urged Janice to speak.

“Well,” Janice began, shifting from foot to foot with her eyes to the floor. “I was just trying to follow the rules and get it over with! But he rejected me!”

“How many times has he rejected you?” Wolfe chimed in, staring down at Freddie zipping up his vault suit at last. His eyes seemed to linger on the boy’s exposed chest before it was completely covered up. When his eyes began to scan the crowd, Butch moved slightly to appear a little bigger, effectively hiding Lex behind him. He wasn’t about to be dragged down with her for breaking a rule.

Janice’s voice pitched in volume, her voice almost coming out in a screech. “Ever since the beginning! I don’t think he has enough brain cells to even get it up!”

A few of the people in the crowd made a noise, Freddie turning beet red at the accusation. Wolfe laughed, shoving Officer Park to the side to stand next to Janice. The younger woman backed up into the door of her apartment. “Lucky for you, there’s one young bachelor you can be switched for who won’t disappoint.”

Janice’s smile was instantaneous. Lex figured she was just as smart as Freddie was if she was happy to be switched out for someone older. That or she had no shame.

As Wolfe escorted the young woman to her new future partner, Officer Park began to disperse the crowd. When all had left, save for Butch and Lex, Freddie was left alone picking up his things.

She couldn’t help but feel sorry for one of the only few people she considered a friend. Freddie was always kind to her, even when he wasn’t feeling too hot he would try to cheer her up. It wasn’t until he began to interact with the Tunnel Snakes did he start to avoid her.

It didn’t come as a surprise when Butch leisurely walked over to Freddie. “Damn Freddie. You got your ass handed to you by a girl.” He snickered, dropping his arm over Freddie’s shoulders.

“Whatever. She was a crazy broad.” Freddie sulked, shoving Butch’s arm off. “She got it all in her head that she needed to look like we were fooling around every minute so we wouldn’t get in trouble. So she kept dragging me off and yelling at me to suck on her neck like Wally does to Christine.”

Lex peeked over Butch’s shoulder at that. “What does that have to do with anything?”  Butch shoved her off when she got too close to his liking.

Freddie shrugged his shoulders. “Jan said that the security keeps off your tail for a while and you can have a little freedom like before the new rules. ‘Cuz that’s what Christine told Janice, and that’s what Wally told Christine.”

Even if it were true, that still wouldn’t explain anything. Why did that work, and why did it make security look the other way? Lex mulled it over, turning away from the two just in time to see Janice walking down the hallway, hand in hand with her new husband, Stevie Mack.

It soon began to make sense. Wally knew that that theory worked because of his brother who recently became part of security. That meant that Wally and Christine had some insight into just exactly the kind of things that were deemed as passable for the project. If it looked like the pairs were being active together, it meant that they passed a check and were then deemed as possibly pregnant. That’s what gave them a bit of freedom, just enough for them to be safe in talking with friends of the opposite sex.

It began to show that despite the Overseer’s attempt to fully control all of the young residents, there were many loopholes they could jump through. With just enough holes in the project, it could be possible to return the group back to how it was before the project was implemented, and the group of young adults could return to living a life without being constantly supervised.

“What’s cooking in that brain of yours?” Butch asked, his voice snapping Lex out of her thoughts. The hope she was quickly growing soon fell, Butch’s face being the reason for its downfall.

For her to be able to walk around freely without Butch as an escort and without the Security team’s eyes looking her up and down wherever she went, meant she would have to get **much** closer to Butch. That was the last thing she wanted.

Janice’s voice grew louder, her excited rambling catching all threes attention. She locked eyes with each of them, giving Lex a smug look up and down before walking away. Based on the look on Stevie’s face, and luckily for Lex, the security officer ignored all of them, including Janice, and continued down the hall.

“Ugh. When did she turn into such a snob?” Lex clicked her tongue at Janice’s back. Freddie giggled, catching himself when Butch gave him a look.

The intercom crackled to life. “Everyone, it is now 6:30 p.m. You must all return to your homes now. Any Vault Resident found breaking curfew will be given probation.”

Both Butch and Lex groaned in unison, each given a look of amazement from Freddie. A dopey smile was plastered on his face before he began to walk away, returning to his now empty apartment.

Lex felt the air soon become awkward as the two lingered there, not sure what to do. So she quickly turned and began to make her way back to the apartment, not daring to look if Butch would do the same. She needed some time to think things over and wishfully hoped Butch would at least stay past curfew like he usually would.

That was the Tunnel Snake’s plan, until he spotted Officer Wolfe eyeing him from down the hall. A chilling realization that he could have been there the whole time, watching as Lex talked to Freddie through him made him quickly rethink his decision of staying out at night. He had no intention of being anywhere near the cold hearted and abusive Officer. His fingers were just starting to heal and he did not plan on breaking them anytime soon.

As if to taunt him, Wolfe began to whistle, causing Butch to move just a bit faster.

Something about that man just did not sit right with him. He didn’t want him anywhere near him or his mother. If it meant he had to stick to the rules then so be it.

—

“Are the halls clear, Park?” The Overseer asked, his eyes following the Officer walk in to his office from behind his desk. The security officer nodded his head, turning to press a button on a remote.

A projector came down from a space in the ceiling, blinking on to show multiple screens. In each box, there were different rooms, the camera switching to different angles every twenty seconds.

The Overseer nodded to the Officer still in the room, leaning back in his chair. “You may leave. Good work today Officer.”

When the door closed, the old man clicked on a button, the screen switching one of the video feeds to an empty apartment. The front door opened and Lex walked in. She sat down on the living room couch and pulled out a small gadget from the end table and began to fiddle with it.

The Overseer shifted in his chair and watched.

—  

Lex turned her head at the sound of the door opening, quickly hiding the little piece of machinery she was working on. Butch walked in, ignoring her sitting on the couch. He headed straight to the fridge.

In those few minutes of silence she was given, Lex mulled over what she had been thinking of earlier in the hall. What Freddie had told her, and the confirmation of the theory being true would only lead to one conclusion. She would have to fake it even more. If push does come to shove with the Overseer and his goons, if they ever do come to question her after months of the Project being established why she wasn’t pregnant, she could convince her father to tell them she was sterile and there was nothing she could do. If that somehow worked and if she was really lucky, they would switch Butch to a different girl who wasn’t her.

Just the thought alone was enough for her to ask Butch.

“Hey.” She started. A loud groan came from the kitchen.

“What now?”

Lex swallowed thickly, her nerves getting the better of her for a split second. Did she really want to do this? The decision she made here would be the turning point of her life in the Vault.

No. This was the only way. “You remember what Freddie said earlier?”

“About the hickeys?” Butch grumbled, appearing from the kitchen archway. “Duh. It’s not like I forgot already, I’m not stupid.”

 _I didn’t say you were._ She almost snapped. _At least not at this moment._ “I think we should do it.”

Butch’s face paled, his eyebrows furrowing. “ ‘Scuse me?” He took a step forward but stopped when he saw her flinch slightly. “Come again? Did ya all of a sudden forget that fucking thing I told you before when you were crying your eyes out?”

Lex bit her bottom lip. “This can be an exception. If anything, this could only help us pass those stupid inspections. And if we keep it up for a few months it can actually make us look legit.” She stood then, taking a step towards him. Butch took a step back, seeing the determination in her eyes. It only made him more nervous.

Butch’s face scrunched up at the idea, his eyes darting around the room. His face began to turn a light pink. If it weren’t for Janice’s scene, it wouldn’t have come down to this. “Just get it over with..” Lex sighed, pulling the zipper on her vault suit down enough so her neck could be exposed and easily accessed.

If Butch looked embarrassed before, he looked mortified now. His cheeks were dusted in a deep red that ran up to his forehead and even to his ears. Lex was in no better state. Butch’s eyes scanned the newly exposed patch of skin, noting the blush his partner was sporting ran down to her chest and to where her shoulder and neck met.

His mouth did not just water. Nope it did not.

When Lex glared up at him, both finally making eye contact again, the look sent a spark through Butch’s chest. It was a new feeling, one he didn’t want to acknowledge. So he ignored it, leaning closer to her. “Don’t rush perfection..”

Lex scoffed, the noise quickly changing into a gasp when the others breath tickled at her skin. At the noise, Butch raised an eyebrow, looking her face up and down before finally closing in..

And began to suck.

The first contact between tongue and skin made Lex weak at the knees, trying her hardest not to make a noise. When he began to nibble at her flesh it quickly became harder to keep the noises from escaping.

A squeak transformed into a breathy gasp. Small hands grabbed onto a leather clad arm. For support, she kept telling herself. Butch’s nibbles turned back into sucking, his hand grabbing onto Lex’s neck in order to stop her from squirming. It only caused her to squeak some more until he loosened his hold on her, his hand slowly making its way to her shoulder.

Just when Lex felt she couldn’t take anymore, the suction suddenly stopped. Before she could make sure it was over the sucking began again, this time on another spot closer to her shoulder. Her whining returned, her knees finally buckling under the barrage of intimacy.

At the realization of them being intimate despite their earlier disgust, Lex began to squirm again. Butch growled, his teeth nipping harder at her skin at her constant moving. The hand that was on her shoulder moved back to her neck, earning a sharp gasp. Her hands began to knead at his arms, her breath on his ear sending shudders down Butch’s spine.

 _Shit.._ He thought, his hand letting go of her neck once she calmed down again. Arousal was spiking his actions. It was only supposed to be one small hickey but now that one turned into two large bruises and a bite mark on her shoulder. _Fuck she smells so good.. And she’s grinding against my leg.._

 _Oh god.._ Lex whimpered, _He needs to stop soon, this is getting creepy._ She flinched when he let go of her neck, Butch choosing that moment to lick and suck more closer to her jaw. His shift in position caused his leg to ride up between her parted legs, successfully trapping her with his body. The contrast in body size scared her a little. When did he get so tall?

“Ah!” Lex squeaked, flinching when Butch’s hand that was on her shoulder slid down to her chest. His large hand palmed at her breast, the large space of hand encasing all of her left cup. He moaned into her neck, his hand on her breast roughly palming at her covered chest some more. “Butch! Get–” she struggled more, now pushing him away from her. “Stop!!”

He let go of her with a pop, seeming to come to his senses just a little. A line of saliva was the only contact remaining between the two now, the silvery strand breaking once Butch wiped at his mouth. Blinking once, he looked over the girl in front of him.

A small smirk pulled at his lips. “You look so messy, Lex..” he breathed, leaning closer just slightly to look over his handiwork.

Lex was shuddering, from fear or something else, neither knew. The shoulder of her vault suit was barely staying on somehow, both her bra and undershirt pulled down until they disappeared just where the zipper began. The skin where the marks began to bruise was glistening with both sweat and saliva, the cold recycled air quickly drying it and reducing the shine. Her hair was pulled out from her usual bun due to her constant wiggling as well as Butch rubbing against the side of her head with his own and his hand.

Somehow it made her look appetizing. “Messy is a good look for you, nosebleed.” Butch licked his lips, the cockiness Lex knew all too well returning to his voice and mannerism. “Wear those hickeys with pride, girly. It’s the Serpent King’s work of art.”

Lex snorted, tucking the loose strands of hair behind her ear and blowing at the ones in her face. Butch just looked even more smug if it were even possible, at Lex trying to fix herself. “Yeah? Well it’s your turn now big man.” The taunting wiped the look clean off of his face, those blue eyes widening when Lex knocked him back onto the wall.

With the roles now succesfully reversed, Butch began to cower. One of Lex’s hand snaked it’s way under the leather jacket and vault suit while the other unzipped it’s way down the front. Trying to get away, Butch began to slide against the wall. It only proved fruitless when Lex followed close behind, a discarded Tunnel Snake jacket now in hand.

Similar to how Butch was before, Lex hesitated before moving in to begin. She gave him a quick look over, noting how he was panting and how red his face was. Was that how she looked to him earlier? It sent a small thrill of excitement through her to see him so defenseless. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all..

If it meant seeing Butch look so messed up and weak, that is.

“Hurry up..” Butch groaned, looking away from her consistent gaze. He felt so lame being pinned down by a girl, and Lex of all people. A thought passed through his brain when he realized he was always being pinned down by her since they were kids. If anything he should be used to it by now. Again that spark from before hit his chest, making him even more confused now that he was actually paying attention to how Lex was acting.

Her breath was still tickling his skin, his warm flesh now sporting goose bumps at how sensitive it felt. A cunning smile teased against his skin when she pushed closer, her lips parting and enveloping a small patch of it as she began to suck. Butch hissed, his hands automatically going to her waist. They were practically sitting on top of each other now.

“Ah fuck..!” Lex heard Butch hiss under his breath when she bit down, similar to how he had done to her. The hands on her waist kept squeezing and trembling at her nibbles, which, in all honesty, made her feel something resembling powerful. It wasn’t quite there yet due to her denying that she was actually enjoying being this close to Butch.

Which she definitely was not. Not at all.

It was only when she began to suck a second mark where she quickly pushed away. Butch’s hands were tearing at her jumper, those fingers massaging at her waist continuously. And then there was the grinding and the.. Pulsing.

When she first felt it move, she faltered but ignored it, thinking it was probably just his zipper. It wasn’t until she felt it swell underneath her did her stomach drop.

She jumped off of Butch so quickly before the other knew what happened and rushed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Butch just sat there, confused. _Why did she stop?_ He found himself wondering.

—

Disgust slithered across Lex’s skin. Chills were proof enough that the fraction of enjoyment she had was now completely gone. It had gone too far. Was she really risking doing unquestionable things for her freedom? Sex was completely out of the question, but would it lead to that? There wasn’t anything preventing Butch from going against his word and pushing her to do that.

Just the thought of it leading up to that brought Lex to her knees, the fear immobilizing her body until all she was was a trembling mess.

No. It absolutely would not come to that.

No matter what, she would not let herself be caught unaware and defenseless.

She sighed, looking up at the ceiling in hopes of getting rid of the acidic feeling in her throat. As she focused on her breathing, a small sound caught her attention. At first she thought it was just the air she was breathing out, but when she heard it again, she knew it had to be something mechanical.  

Her eyes scanned the ceiling, paying close attention to any small cracks or changes she didn’t notice before. She stood, using the sink as leverage to try to get a closer look.

The sound of a small click behind her caused her to whip around, almost falling from the edge of the sink. It was in the corner above the shower head that she saw the small, round object she thought was just part of the design. She stepped closer, a sense of dread falling on her like the water from the shower.

With a snapping sound, she pulled at the round item. Wires were attached to it, connecting it to the wires inside the wall. A chill ran down her spine when she realized what it was.

She quickly looked around the bathroom again, making sure there wasn’t anymore similar circles anywhere else.

A feeling of dread quickly soaked her to the bone, a feeling of hopelessness engulfing her. The small camera she had in her hands could only lead to more problems for them in the future.

The Overseer’s hold on them was a lot stronger than she originally thought.


	6. Compromised

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonding, bonding and… bondage? Continuing forward, expect every chapter to be NSFW. I will tag the reasoning behind it in case of a triggering!NSFW piece as well as continuing to mention it in the A.N.

Lex burst from behind the door, about to explode with what she just found. Her voice was already saying words before her mind could catch up, repeating one word over and over again.

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck!!” she cried, almost tripping over her own feet. Butch jumped from where he stood, his back facing her.

“What the fuck are you going on about?”

Her waving hands and gaping mouth did nothing to answer him, instead it just freaked him out even more. “Calm the hell down! What?!” Butch’s hands took hold of Lex’s, her wide hazel eyes showing just how freaked out she was as well.

“They’ve got cameras! Installed into the walls!” She whispered, yanking her hand holding the small device out from Butch’s hold. She unraveled her clenched hand to show Butch the little round object.

“Wha.. How do you even know it’s a camera?”

Lex shushed him for speaking loudly, her eyes darting around the room. They remained quiet for a few seconds, listening. A small noise, similar to the one Lex had heard earlier came from their bedroom. With a horrified expression, Lex pulled herself away from Butch and sped into the intruded room, flinging everything in there out.

Butch watched in amazement from the door, avoiding anything that was being thrown his way. Her eyes were wild looking, darting everywhere to find a camera. “You have no idea how crazy you look right now.” He commented, earning a pillow to the face.

Lex was unable to find the camera she was so convinced she heard that night. She had trouble sleeping, knowing that the Overseer could be watching.

Once it was morning, and having gotten barely any sleep, Lex prepared to go to work. When the Vault was under construction building a handful of new apartments for the project, her coworker was helping out with a few wiring problems. He should be able to tell her where any cameras could be hiding and hopefully explain why.

Although Stanley and Lex were in different departments for their job, the two would often be assigned the same job. Stanley would be given janitorial duties where Lex wouldn’t however.

“Hey, wait.”

Butch’s voice barely registered in her head until he pulled her back inside their apartment just as she was about to leave. His face was red, those blue eyes of his looking away when she looked at him.

“One of the hickey’s fading.” he grumbled, pointing to her neck. Lex gave him an annoyed look before looking him over as well. The hickeys on his neck were still dark purple bruises, on perfect display just above his leather jacket’s collar.

“So fix it.” She sighed, pulling her collar down roughly. Butch’s face darkened even more.

His hands were trembling when they touched her, his mouth sucking on the bruised spot from before. The feeling caused her to hiss, the tender area still sore from last night. When he bit down gently, his hands traced down her torso, brushing against her breasts before holding onto her waist. Those hands kneaded at her in their spot before he pulled away quickly.

Butch wiped his mouth and left without a single word.

_That was weird.._

—

Butch quickly sped down the hallway, stepping up the stairs two at a time before shutting himself in a bathroom stall. His breathing was labored due to practically flying up the stairs combined with what had just occurred.

He had no idea why he decided to do that. He had no idea why he wanted to get closer to her again. The hickey he told her that was fading out was still visible and bruised. He had lied.

His hand still felt warm where he touched her along her perfect curves.

“Get a hold of yourself Butchie..” He breathed, trying to calm down. The throbbing that was happening in his suit went ignored, Butch concentrating completely on his breathing.

He still had 8 more work hours to go.

—

Lex’s eyes widened in shock at Stanley’s words. “Wally and Christine are cousins?” The old man nodded with a solemn look on his face, the smile on his face just a facade over the information. “Why did the Overseer allow a thing like that to even pass?”

Stanley looked at her with an incredulous look, as if she was not present at all when the pairs were named. “He didn’t exactly pair them up. He just said they were the last to be ‘spared’. If any pair would become violent towards each other, or would not cooperate with the project, they would be paired with either of the two.”

Lex looked away, remembering how during the meeting, she had completely blacked out, the only thing she could possibly remember after hearing her name next to Butch’s was running down the halls. It was embarrassing even now that she recalled her past actions. She had acted so selfishly.

“What about Steve then? Wouldn’t he have been paired with Christine?” She asked, her mind going into hyperdrive with everything she was learning again. If it were truly the case, that Wally and Christine were not paired at all due to their genes being a constant in the Vault, then the theory that Freddie had told her was just a fabrication from Wally himself. Unless Wally was actually active with his own cousin. Which would be gross.

“Steve is too sick, and too young to actually be a part of the Project.” Stanley answered, adjusting a broken terminal at his desk. The boy was just two years younger than them, and constantly running either a fever or a cold. It was a wonder that he actually survived to be as old as he is.

This turned to be a new catalyst in Lex’s struggle. So with this, that meant that Wally had lied to Freddie, or Freddie had believed or even made up a lie. Which wouldn’t have been the case, considering Lex believed Freddie to be her close friend, outside of Amata. There was no way Freddie would do such a thing to her.

Despite her distraction due to the new information, Lex remembered from the morning what she wanted to ask her older coworker. Surely it wouldn’t be as groundbreaking as finding out that Wally and Christine were cousins. “You helped to realign and configure wires in the newly built apartments, right? Did you ever build anything that was out of the ordinary in them?” Lex asked tentatively, looking up occasionally from the piece she was working on.

Stanley seemed to contemplate on the question, stopping his work on the terminal before he answered. “The Overseer did suggest we install some alarms in the bathroom and bedroom. I always found it odd.”

This was it. “Do you remember where you installed them?” Hopefully it didn’t come out as obvious like she felt it did that she knew exactly what kind of alarms they were.

When Stanley raised an eyebrow she thought she was caught. “Why do you ask?”

With a sudden surge of confidence and past experience of being a great liar, Lex quickly responded with a fake sigh, her facial expression turning glum. “There’s just this constant ringing in the apartment. I barely got any sleep last night because of it. I thought I was going to go crazy.”

Stanley’s suspicious look dissolved, a worried look replacing it. “Oh that’s not good. I’ll have to check on that. Which apartment is yours? Hopefully the same isn’t happening to the rest.”

Lex told him the location of her apartment, watching as his expression changed once again.

“It makes sense that you would hear something. The Overseer explicitly told us to not put much effort when finishing. Your apartment was to be a low-end apartment in the end anyways, in order to have enough resources when the Vault expanded.” He said, putting down his tools. “I’ll go take a look once I’m done with this.”

Lex got up quickly, placing her work down on her desk alongside her tools. “I’m actually about finished here and heading home for a bit.” She rushed, thinking something up on the spot. “Besides, if it happens to make the noise again wouldn’t it be better if I could just fix it instead of bothering you every time?”

The old man seemed to think it over before agreeing that it was a better idea than having to return every so often. “The alarms are right above the showerhead and in the left corner of the bedroom. If you need any help, you can ask me.”

It took every inch of restraint in Lex to not book it to her home. She had to force herself to stay until she was done with her current job in order to not look too suspicious, despite how oblivious Stanley was.

She still had 6 more hours to go.

—

When the clock struck the end of her shift, Lex was already in her apartment, moving furniture to find the illusive camera. She was too into finding it that she didn’t even notice the front door opening, or the footsteps that sounded in the apartment. It wasn’t until her foot was nudged did she jump up and hit her head on the low end shelf, cursing under her breath before looking at who it was that interrupted her search.

“You’ve got company, you spaz.” Butch said again, a toothpick dangling from his lips. He pointed behind him before walking back out. Lex followed close behind after adjusting the furniture back to the way it was.

Amata was waiting outside their bedroom in the kitchen. At the sight of her friend her eyes lit up before they both sat at the table. “Amata! What’s up, kitty cat?”

Amata laughed at her friend, noting the red mark where she clearly hit herself against something. She waited until Butch went into the other room, listening for him and Paul to begin talking. “It feels like we haven’t seen each other in so long.” She smiled.

Lex nodded, relaxing into the chair. Her mind was still set on finding the camera, but she forced herself to pay attention to her friend. “Yeah. Why is that anyways? Your job keeping you busy?”

Her friend sighed, shaking her head. “No, I was dragged into that maternity class by Suzie. She said she didn’t want to be the only one there.” A blush spread across her cheeks as she remembered the encounter. “Old lady Palmer really has no filter.”

The kitchen exploded with laughter, Butch and Paul looking in shock in that direction from their seats in the living room. Paul noticed the change in expression on his leader’s face as the man listened to the girl’s giggles. When Butch caught him staring, Paul gave him a knowing smile.

“What?” Butch glared, throwing his toothpick at him. The other Tunnel Snake laughed, shaking his head.

His leader really was too easy to read. At least he didn’t have to worry too much now. “Hey are those hickeys on your neck?” Paul teased. Butch’s face turned red, his eyes widening slightly at his friend noticing.

“Yeah, why do you have hickeys on your neck, Lex?” Amata whispered after hearing Paul ask Butch from the other room. “Don’t tell me he forced himself on you!”

Lex held in a laugh, the air escaping from her lips with a sound. “No, no. This is all my doing. It’s a long story, but this is completely because of me. You know how far I go when I come up with a plan..”

Amata groaned, rubbing at her temple with her hand. “Oh Lord. Not one of your plans.. What is it this time? If you let Butch suck on your neck he won’t try to get in your pants?”

Lex was hesitant in letting her friend in on the secret. How would she feel about her father spying on everybody? Amata was always devoted to her father, taking his stern lectures and rules with a grain of salt. It wouldn’t benefit her if she knew. “Something like that, I guess.”

“Careful _Alexandria_.” Amata teased, accentuating Lex’s full name with a harsh tone. If Lex had known her mother, that would have been the tone she would have used on her. It was a very motherly tone. “Next thing you know you’re falling into a Tunnel Snake’s pit.”

Lex raised an eyebrow, shooting a teasing smile back at her friend. “Like you have?”

The blushing, embarrassed look meant that Lex achieved victory.

In the end she didn’t have it in her to tell her. There was a possibility that the Overseer was only spying on her apartment due to how rash she had been during the ‘wedding’ ceremony. Next time she visited her friend at her apartment she would disable her cameras. Just to be safe and spare her best friend the stress.

—

As soon as the couple left, Lex returned to searching for the camera. It was almost curfew and around the same time when she first found the camera in the bathroom. There was very little time left for her privacy to still exist until the next day.

Just as she was about to give up, a small circle peeking from behind her dresser caught her eye. Quickly pushing the large furniture piece to the side confirmed the location of the second camera. “I found it!” Lex cheered.

She went to pull it out until a thought occurred to her. If she pulled out the cameras that would only make the Overseer aware that she disabled them. It would only cause harsh repercussions to follow and cause them to get in deep trouble. An incident similar or harsher than what Butch experienced a few weeks ago could be a possibility.

Butch had appeared at the doorway, leaning against it while he watched her. She looked to be considering something.

Lex’s eyes sparkled when an idea formed. “We can record scenes where we look like we’re going to do ‘it’. Then I can put it into their feed and have it on different playbacks for different days.” She exclaimed suddenly, grabbing onto Butch’s arms and shaking him slightly. “We can do this!”

Butch stammered in surprise, leaning away when he realized how close she had gotten. Her idea seemed ridiculous, barely understanding anything that she just said. But her determined gaze made him believe she could possibly accomplish whatever it was she said. They were just going to ‘act’ it out anyway.

Before he could even say anything he was pushed onto the bed, landing heavily on his back. “We don’t have much time left, we have to start this now.”

“What–?” annoyance pulsed at Butch’s temple, watching as Lex seemed to think hard before going to their clothes drawer and pull out a leather belt.

“Wouldn’t want your hands to wander off and make it look faked.” she stated matter of factually.

Butch held back a high pitched scream as he was man-handled on the bed. The belt was wrapped around his wrists quickly and effectively before he even had a grasp of the situation and what was happening. “There.” Lex huffed, dimming the lights in the room. When she checked her pipboy, the light reflected off her body, showcasing her in a glow as she unzipped her jumpsuit. A warmth spread through Butch as he watched. “Alright, the feed should be coming on soon.” Lex continued, climbing onto the bed with her jumpsuit dangling off her hips. Butch swallowed at the lump in his throat, his mouth suddenly producing too much saliva. She tinkered a bit with her pipboy, occasionally facing in the direction the camera was before she finally lowered her arm.

Lex’s hands tugged at the hem of her shirt, pulling it off and tossing it to the floor. When Butch continued to stare at the newly exposed range of skin, Lex shot him a glare. “What? Never seen tits before Deloria?”

He glared back. “Don’t kid yourself. Yours are nothing to write home about.”

She shot him a look back, making herself comfortable on top of him in the meantime. “And yet you’re still staring despite me still wearing my bra.”

Butch clicked his tongue, looking away. The ugly grey sports bra was the biggest boner killer. Not like he was going to get a boner now though.

A low beep came from Lex’s pipboy, its light turning off followed by the sound of a holotape rewinding slowly. Lex mouthed the word _Showtime_ before she raised herself slightly from where she sat and leaned slightly forward. Her breath tickled at Butch’s ear as he laid there, waiting. “Oh, Butch..!” She fake gasped, pulling away and lowering herself back to where she was previously seated in between Butch’s legs. One of her fingers was placed at her mouth, making a show of her biting it as she pretended to hop up and down on his ‘lap’.

Butch watched in shock at the way the girl in front of him was acting. It seemed as if she turned into a completely different person, someone with a whole lot of sex appeal compared to the wet rag she was before.

She continued bouncing, occasionally brushing against Butch when the bounce of the mattress caused her movement to mismatch. It caused the Tunnel Snake to make a low noise somewhere between a groan and a hiss. Lex ignored the sounds, continuing to put on a show for the peeping eyes. It was only when Lex stopped to untie her hair from its bun that she put her whole weight down against Butch, feeling something twitch in between her legs.

_Oh.._

Butch was breathing heavily now, his eyes still watching her. They raked down her body before looking back up to her face, catching her own gaze.

In the dim lighting he could see the look of surprise on her face. A blush was blooming on her face before an embarrassed look took over.

“Excited?” She couldn’t help but tease despite how embarrassed she was at not taking into consideration how the other would react at her display. For some reason she did not think the other would become aroused, despite having gotten excited the other time she was on top of him. “You got a thing for girls being top?” her words kept gushing out without her thinking before speaking.

Growling in embarrassment at her words, Butch pushed himself off his back, his still tied hands grabbing on to Lex’s jumpsuit. She gasped at the change, feeling their crotches grind against each other. It sent a shock through her body, a feeling completely foreign to her. She felt a little scared.

The throbbing became evident below her now, continuing to pulse against her inner thigh. The feeling sent another shock through her as Butch began to rut against her, his brows furrowing at the feeling. He looked like he was in pain.

She hesitated before she placed her hands on Butch’s chest, noting the flesh underneath his shirt twitching with her touch. His muscles clenched under her when she put a little bit more pressure where they were touching, causing Butch to hiss.

Lex had no idea what would cause her to do such a thing, but she really wanted to see his face. Her hands on his chest traced up his neck before stilling against his jaw, successfully making him lift up his gaze.

At the sight of his blue eyes on her, Lex ground down like before, watching Butch’s face contort with something. He let out a breathy gasp when Lex continued grinding down, watching pleasure overtake her partner.

A thrill rushed through her at the sight. Before she knew it she was moaning quietly along with him, feeling pleasure at the rubbing sensations. She wanted this, to continue the moment. It felt so good.

“Fuck..” Butch cursed, his hands tugging at the restraints around his wrists. The leather had loosened just enough for him to slip a hand through, his hands instantly grabbing at Lex’s waist once they were free, pushing her harsher down against him. The pace they were going at before was not enough for Butch, just barely letting him feel anything before it was gone.

He thought he was beginning to imagine things when he heard Lex begin to moan, until he realized she actually was. It made the pleasure he was experiencing feel even better.

Those small hands of hers were still on his jaw, their faces dangerously close to each other. They were so close they could feel every moan and gasp the other let out.

Those lips of hers were so tempting, he just wanted to bite at her bottom one and watch her squeal.

“Butch..” Lex whimpered, closing her eyes and concentrating on the feeling of Butch’s hands guiding her on where to move her hips. A shine glinted off his blue eyes at the sound of his name, Lex squealing when she felt herself fall back.

At the moment her back collided with the mattress, her open mouth was covered with something warm. It pressed against her lips while Butch’s hands wandered around her naked waist, their constant moving from before never stopping.

It wasn’t until something warm and wet pushed between her lips did she realize Butch was kissing her, his tongue tracing circles around her own. The feeling of both tongues touching caused Lex to moan sweetly, her legs wrapping tightly around Butch’s waist. His hands tangled themselves in her hair when he sped up their grinding, making it evident he was trying to give her as much pleasure he was trying to give himself. Lex moaned when he ground harshly against her, keeping the pressure there for a few seconds before pulling away. A smile tugged at his lips when she whimpered at the loss of pressure, her mouth opening up for him to kiss into again.

They continued like that, grinding against each other until Butch pulled them back so Lex was on top again. By now Lex was so disheveled and panting, her body moved on its own. The cloth on her jumpsuit where she was grinding against felt like squelches sounded, adding more pleasure to her grinding. Butch’s hands remained on her waist, watching in a trance as the girl in front of him tried her hardest to cum. Her face began to turn sloppy when he ground up, earning a low moan as a prize.

He was so close, the rising feeling making him close his eyes. Lex whimpered out a moan before collapsing on top of Butch. She reached for him, gasping as he flipped them over on the bed again and pinned her down.

The shock of the orgasm was too much for her as she began to babble out his name into his mouth. One of her free hands crawled down his back, feeling in amazement at the muscles he was working snap with each grind and roll of his hips. The fuzzy afterglow began to fog up her mind, half aware she was still moving her hips against his until he stilled, pressing flush against her. The last thing she remembered was hearing him whisper her name amongst something else, before sleep overtook her.

It wasn’t until she woke up with his arms around her did she really start to freak out. His warm breath was on the back of her head when her eyes fluttered open, waking up from a dreamless sleep. At the realization that Butch had passed and broken a boundary, Lex struggled to slip out of bed and from his arms.

Both have passed a boundary, part of the truce they made now broken into a million pieces.

Remembering just about every little detail they did to each other made Lex’s head spin.

 _Calm down Lex. Remember why you did this._ She repeated to herself. Her hands were clenched around each other as she struggled to get her thoughts in order. Despite how hard she tried, her thoughts kept returning back to last night and to the feeling of Butch kissing her.

It felt so surreal, like she stepped into a different dimension where she was totally okay with that being done to her. She shuddered before standing up and quietly shut herself in the bathroom.


	7. In the Long Run Pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of borderline sexual/non-sexual but still NSFW dreams, abuse, sexual abuse, and implications of rape towards the end. I ended up triggering myself trying to finish those parts so tread lightly.
> 
> Also, sorry if it feels kinda rushed.

Lex was laying on her back, completely naked. That grey bra of hers and her vault suit were nowhere to be found. Those long legs and perfectly round hips were on display for only him to see. **  
**

He whispered her name, feeling her giggles resonate in the area they were in. She beckoned to him, lifting herself up from her position before she grabbed at his jacket to bring him closer. Those small hands of hers traced over the stitching, following it until her arms wrapped around his neck. She sighed contentedly, as if all she wanted was to stay there forever.

“You rotten Tunnel Snake..” she sighed again when he wrapped his arms around her small waist. He breathed in her scent, the smell of lavender and a hint of musk intoxicating him. Her groans brought him back to what was happening but he couldn’t see her, his arms suddenly feeling empty.

—

When Butch woke up, he was alone. The dream was so vivid he thought that Lex would be in his arms. Except she was nowhere to be seen.

Regret began to grow in the middle of his chest then as he recalled what happened the night before. It wasn’t a surprise to find her gone after he whispered such intimate things to her while she was half awake. He figured she heard what he said and was freaked out by it.

The kissing was also another reason as well. It had been a spur of the moment thing, when Butch was deciding whether to hurry things along or just push her off for going too far. He hated to admit it but she had been driving him wild that night. It looked like she was also battling some inner wars with herself because of the sudden progression in their arranged relationship.

The feeling of her fingers pulling his face so he looked at her was still fresh on his mind. It felt so intimate at the moment, he thought she really looked like she wanted to kiss him.

Butch groaned as he got up from bed.

It was more than a month and a half in since the Project was established and the Tunnel Snake was already falling hard for his main target of bullying. The little nerdy girl he would tease everyday was suddenly so damn attractive in his eyes, he felt delirious just remembering her. Not in any sexual way either, just picturing her face when she’s working or when she would stand up to him when he would be busy harassing Amata. He was starting to consider those faces beautiful.

How had he never noticed how intense her eyes were? How her hair looked so light and feathery when it wasn’t tied up in that ugly bun, or how she was always so confident with things she would come up with, whether it was a plan or a tech project she was working on.

He couldn’t dwell on it for too long though. He shouldn’t. They made a promise to not get close to each other and give a big old ‘Fuck you’ to the Overseer while doing so. If he let those growing strings of attachment get the better of him, they’d just end up falling into the Overseer’s pit of control and rules.

No matter how hard he tried though, her face kept appearing in his mind. She was consuming his thoughts.

—

It became apparent that they were avoiding each other. Butch stayed in the Barber shop for the work hours and mainly solicited halls where nobody would usually go through with his gang members. Lex did the same, but instead hung out at her father’s clinic along with Amata and Suzy.

When curfew hit, Lex made sure to get home minutes early, something she loathed doing, and forced herself to sleep early in order to avoid her ‘dear husband’. Of course, she would always feign sleep if she were awake when she heard the door open and when the side of the bed next to her was filled.

They would no longer see each other in the morning, Lex being the one missing from bed whenever Butch would wake up, wrapped in the blankets and on her side of the bed. Again he would feel a piece missing when he realized he held onto her as he slept.

It was becoming a habit he was coming to realize that he was reluctant to get rid off. The constant numb state he was in since growing older would disappear when he slept wrapped around Lex. Her heat was a comfort he didn’t want to let go of.

He was truly falling for her. Embarrassingly hard.

His feelings only got worse when he had dreams of her, which was happening almost every other night.

It was halfway into the coming month when he had another vivid dream.

Lex was sprawled naked again, this time on a visible bed. Her hair was feathered over her shoulders, floating in the air around her whenever she would move. Her eyes were closed but seemed to open up when she felt him watching her. She giggled, rolling over to hide herself from him. “You’re staring..” she sighed, bashfully. He felt himself sigh along with her.

His hands traced over her curves, tracing into the dip of her back and down her long legs. She giggled again and rolled over, her hands cradling something in her arms.

He woke up with a jolt, rushing up from the bed with his heart racing. The dream he woke up from was quickly fading into nothing, whatever it was he saw in it scaring him.

It had been a similar dream, or a continuation, of the one he had a few nights ago.

His Pipboy read 3:00 a.m. He had no business being awake this early and it pissed him off. When he looked next to him he saw the sleeping back of Lex, her soft breathing calming him down enough from his panic to fall asleep. His arms were wrapped tighter around her that night.

—

Another month had passed.

Butch lingered around outside the door to their apartment, having loitered around halls for most of the day with the other Tunnel Snakes.

It was past curfew when he finally entered their apartment. When he saw the lights in the bedroom were dimmed behind closed doors, a feeling of anxiety pulsed within him. His constant dreams of her sprawled across the bed caused him to feel that way, his imagination getting the better of him.

His hand hesitated before he opened the door, noticing a figure underneath the covers when he walked in.

Lex was fast asleep. Like always.

She was wrapped in the blankets, taking all of them from his side of the bed. He sighed, aggravated that he found the way she looked was so cute.

The bed creaked under him when he sat on it to take his boots off, the heavy leather hitting the metal floor with a loud thud. Lex made a quiet groaning sound at the noise, pulling the covers over her shoulders more. Butch glanced at her, making sure he didn’t wake her before he began to undress, unzipping the Vault suit he wore for the day and kicking it off to the corner of the room.

As he pulled the white shirt he wore under his suit over his head, he caught sight of a holotape on top of the dresser. It’s the recording from that night.

Making sure that Lex was still fast asleep, Butch sat down on the edge of the bed on his side before pushing the tape into his pipboy. It felt a bit wrong to be curious of that moment the two shared, both letting their carnal instincts take over in the moment and doing something neither thought they would do together in all their life.

When the tape loaded up on the screen, all that appeared were a jumble of words and numbers, causing Butch unable to make any of it. Did recording it not work?

Lex moved around behind him on the bed, her arm bumping against his back when she rolled over. It caused Butch to jump in surprise as well as cause Lex to wake up.

“Mm.. Butch?” she asked groggily, trying to make sense of what he was doing in the dim lighting. Butch’s chest squeezed at her sleep filled voice, his heart fluttering when he looked over his shoulder to look at her.

She was wearing a tank top, the bra she usually wore underneath nowhere in sight.

“What are you doing?” she asked while she rubbed at the inner corner of her eye. Butch turned to eject the tape from his pip boy, shuddering when he felt her hand that was still on his back trace a finger across his bare shoulder blades. It seemed she hadn’t noticed yet that he was half dressed.

He hesitated before answering, afraid of how she might respond. “Checking the tape.” he rushed to add in, “are you sure it works? All that’s in it is numbers and letters.”

Lex yawned, nodding and humming along before answering. “It’s a code to play back whatever was recorded. It might not show anything on this end, but it’ll show a different scene to them whenever I play it on my pipboy.”

By scenes she must mean the positions we were in.. Butch thought, placing the tape back on the bed side table where it was. He didn’t know how code worked so he didn’t want to think too much on it. It always gave him headaches.

So he turned around to get into his side of the bed, until he noticed her hair was long enough untied that it was splayed out on his side of the bed. He didn’t remember it being this long before, but then again he made it a habit to not focus too much on her hair. She would never let him live it down.

But goddammit it was so damaged and all over his side of the bed he couldn’t even lay down without putting his whole weight on it. “You do know you’re supposed to wear a silk head wrap with your type of hair right?”

Lex groaned, waking up slightly. She gave him an irritated but confused look, wondering just why he decided to wake her up again. “What are you talking about?”

This time, Butch picked up a few strands, realizing just how dry and damaged it actually was. “A silk headwrap. Like a scarf?” Lex blinked a few times. He sighed. “Forget it. I’m going to sleep.” He shoved all of her side closer to her where it wouldn’t get in the way before getting in bed.

A few minutes in the darkness passed. “Hair really is all you ever think about.”

Butch groaned, regretting ever talking to her. “Shut up, ‘m trying to sleep.”

Lex giggled before the room fell quiet again. The quiet was now what kept Butch awake.

He had the urge to hold her again, to tuck her hair carefully close to her so she wouldn’t get it stuck under them in her sleep.

So he improvised, carefully holding her hair and tying it quickly into a braid before placing it over her shoulder and away from any immediate danger. With how damaged it was, it would hold enough to last through the night.

With that thought out of his mind now, Butch settled onto his back, ready to fall asleep. Sleep was still far from his grasp, however, his mind going back to the girl next to him. Despite how hard he tried not to think of it, he kept thinking about how Lex decided to not wear a bra tonight. Not that he cared much if she did or not, she obviously could do whatever she wanted. She made damn sure he knew that too.

He turned to look at her, his eyes running down her back.

She made sure to avoid him on purpose then, he couldn’t help but think that he was the only one who was avoiding her. So why did she decide to confront him tonight?

Maybe she was tired of avoiding me, too. He thought to himself, a feel of optimism growing in his chest. He continued to stare at her back, hesitating slightly before rolling onto his side.

He carefully placed a hand on her hip, waiting to see if she would react. When she didn’t, he slid in closer to her, his chest now touching her back. He could feel her breathing against him now.

He tried to leave it at that, sighing peacefully as he got comfortable to fall asleep, until she shifted to lay on her back. For a second he thought he had been caught, until he heard her still quietly breathing. The hand he had on her hip was now on her soft stomach right next to her own hand, with his face now an inch away from hers. She was so close he could practically count each of her eyelashes.

He almost did if sleep hadn’t prevented him from doing so.

Minutes after Butch was sleeping, his quiet breaths blowing against Lex’s neck, she opened her eyes from feigning sleep. His hand against her stomach was warm, a comforting touch.

She didn’t know if it was because she was falling asleep or because she felt comfort in the others touch, that she turned in his hold, wrapping her own arms around his body. Her sigh went unheard in the dim room.

—

Morning broke with a burst of cold recycled air pulsing down on them. Lex shifted in her sleep uncomfortably when the air hit her face, causing her to wake from her deep sleep. The blankets around her felt too tightly wrapped to move.

Sleep overtook her for a few minutes before she was woken up again by weight pressing around her.

Butch’s face was an inch away from her when she opened her eyes. His usual scrunched up, grumpy face was relaxed, with his usually kempt hair undone and wavy over his face. A sigh built up in her chest before she fought it down, embarrassed at herself.

“Too close..” she groaned, feeling her face heat up with a blush as she pushed Butch away with her hand to his face. The other made a muffled noise of surprise, his arms tightening around her on instinct. The action squeezed a surprised noise out of Lex. “Butch! Let go, I have to get to work!”

“Mm don’t go..” she heard him groan against her hand. “Don’t leave me alone.” She sighed in frustration, sitting up on the bed but staying there. Butch made a sound of approval, still muffled by Lex’s hand. A heart string tugged at the sound, the hand’s owner pulling the hand away from the other’s mouth.

“You got five more minutes.. Then I’m kicking you off of me.”

The little laugh should not have brought a smile to her face. This is so weird. Cuddling? Lex hesitated before looking at Butch, feeling him move against her. His hands remained at her waist, at an appropriate area of her body, nowhere near touching any parts even in his sleep. Not sure if I should feel ok, or if I should feel even more creeped out.

Then again, she could mess around with him. If she had a marker she would have drawn a mustache on him. Kind of like the one he has growing.

Maybe a unibrow? No, he already has stupid eyebrows. His hair is really soft though. Her fingers ran through his dark locks, smoothly, the complete opposite of how her hair was. Butch took a deep breath, burying his face against Lex’s thigh. “Mm.. f’ls g’d..”

Ok, yeah, definitely feeling creeped out now. Lex struggled a bit against his hold, her hands effectively unlatching herself from his arms.

She quickly rushed to slip on her blue vault suit, glancing back every second or so to make sure Butch wasn’t awake and watching. He remained on his spot the two were tangled in, still fast asleep.

It was becoming obvious as to what was happening, Lex began to realize. Butch was beginning to want more. Either he actually did lie from the very beginning or he was now going back on his word because she had pushed him too far. Last night, the way Lex had let her guard down and trusted Butch to not do anything if she let herself relax enough to have a proper night’s sleep had clearly been a mistake.

There was only one way to know for sure what his intentions were, and that was by pushing his buttons enough until he snapped. It was a risky idea, one that would either lead to a regular fist fight or something worse. But Lex had to do it. To ensure her pride, and safety were still unchanged.

The alarm on Butch’s pipboy began to ring, waking him up long enough for him to turn it off. By then, Lex left to the bathroom, keeping an eye on the other before she began to get herself ready. The sounds of him shuffling around could be heard from the other room, Lex rushing to wash her face and to tie up her hair.

Lex floated around the kitchen area once she was done, watching out of the corner of her eye as Butch got ready for the day. He ignored her on his way to the bathroom, yawning into his hand while adjusting his half zipped vault suit he left hanging on his waist.

Lex took in a deep breath, mentally preparing herself before walking over to the open bathroom door. Butch was washing his face, oblivious to what the other was planning. She put on her best glare, mimicking the look he would give her when he would bully her as kids.

Hazel eyes caught blue through the mirror. “You know you talk in your sleep?” Lex grinned, leaning against the door frame of the bathroom. She hesitantly rubbed at her neck, making a show of showing off the tan skin there. Blue eyes traced over the long ridge of her neck from the mirror, the grin widening on her face. “Ooh~ Lex, don’t leave me..” She faked a small moan. “You’re so soft…”

Butch blushed at her teasing, tossing the towel he was using into the sink. “The fuck are you talking about?” A blush crawled up Lex’s cheeks when she didn’t answer, avoiding his eyes instead. This was it, she thought, bracing herself for what was to come. A crease appeared in between his knit eyebrows when he stared her down, noticing her change in posture. “That don’t sound like me. Don’t go spreading lies.”

Lex watched Butch retreat out of the apartment, stepping out of his way in time when he pushed his way out of the bathroom. Her hand raised up instinctively to stop him from leaving, insistent on getting something out of him to explain what his motives are. “Butch–”

His hand swatted away her own, his gaze turning to her with an angry look. “Leave me alone!”

Guilt stabbed at her chest at the sight of Butch closing the door behind him. That had not been a reaction she had expected which threw all of her past plausible results out the door. She knew he would get angry, but him eluding confrontation made her take a step back. Maybe she had jumped to conclusions in thinking he was truly as horrible as she thought he was.

Butch stormed down the halls, mortified by what Lex told him. She may have been teasing him, for whatever reason, but it had hit so close to home whether she actually knew or not, just the thought of her finding him acting like a pathetic lovestruck fool hilarious made him want to die.

The look she had given him through the mirror made him feel awful, as if she had actually planned on hurting him if he touched her. It was a look similar to the day they had signed, when he found her practically hiperventilating in a storage room.

She was so confusing! How she could go from a normal person without a care in the world to the complete opposite over nothing is beyond him.

He sighed, leaning against a wall near his workplace to gather his thoughts. The trust he thought she had for him was now just a thought and not true. She really did not trust him, nor would she ever will.

Then again, he never gave her reason to. It was now that Butch was beginning to feel regret towards what he did to her growing up. He deserved his current position for it though, as if he would ever truly be happy.

A small part of him though made him want to try. To try to convince her he wasn’t so bad anymore, or to convince her that they could actually like each other. The second idea made him feel wimpy though.

The sound of footsteps made Butch look up, hearing a small surprised squeak coming from the end of the hall. Amata looked frozen in place, avoiding Butch’s gaze in her direction before she began to turn around and walk away.

“Hey ner– Amata!” Butch called after her, catching himself before he could slip up. He quickly walked up to her, blocking the path in front of her by standing in her way. “I need to have a word with you.”

Amata hesitated, looking completely uncomfortable. Butch couldn’t blame her. She was constantly being harassed by the Tunnel Snakes before the project, even more than Lex was. “I just.. Need to talk to someone.” he whispered.

She scoffed, turning away and about to leave. “Then go talk to one of your goons.”

“They wouldn’t understand. Especially since it’s about.. Lex.”

Worry made Amata stop in her tracks and turn around. “If you did anything to her you rotten Tunnel Snake I swear–”

“Jeez, chill out, I didn’t do nothing to her!”

Amata looked his face up and down, scanning for any signs of the other lying. Butch looked worried, avoiding eye contact every few seconds or so to look around. Finally she sighed, leaning slightly on the wall. “Fine…” she accepted begrudgingly before whispering under her breath. “This is ridiculous. I’m helping my bully..”

“Hey! Imagine how I feel, having to ask a loser like you!” he gave her a small glare, noticing a small bruise on her neck. When Amata realized what he was staring at, she slapped her hand over the mark, her face blushing like mad. “Looks like one of my goons snaked his way to you–”

Amata groaned loudly at the pun and remark, only causing a large grin to spread on Butch’s face. “Wasn’t there something you wanted help with?”

—

Lex sat at her desk, messing around with a string of code to a buggy terminal. She half heartedly typed in codes, not really worrying about fixing whatever the problem the terminal had at the moment.

Her thoughts kept going back to the events that occurred a few hours ago in her apartment. The surprise of Butch’s reaction kept playing over and over in her mind. Why was she even surprised, when it was her intention to get a reaction from him in the first place? She felt stupid now, however. Her actions did nothing but bring back the awkwardness from before, when the two would explicitly go out if their way to avoid each other. In no time, security would tell that they weren’t ‘getting closer’ like they were before and the act would be up. They would be seperated, and place her in another pair, or similar to what they did with Janice and just give her to one of security or to the last single Mack. She would rather stay with Butch than have to suffer through that.

She quickly got rid of her thoughts concerning Butch, returning to cleaning up her area before leaving for lunch. If she were lucky she could meet up with Amata and the two could spend some time together. All she needed was some friend time to get her mind straight. At the exact moment the clock struck her lunch break, Lex quickly walked out of her work room, making a beeline for the diner.

When she turned a corner of the hall she almost collided into a body, dodging it last minute but brushing her shoulder against them. “Watch where you’re going nerd.” It was Wally, his ugly sneer directed towards her.

At the taunt from the Tunnel Snake, Lex continued down the hall toward the dining area, completely ignoring him. Her thoughts were on food and returning back to work in order to finish the pile of work she had that day in order to have enough time before curfew to spend some time in her sanctuary and hopefully to be able to hang out with Amata if she couldn’t during lunch.

Loud footsteps grew louder behind her as she opened a door to get to the hall, feeling a rush of air behind her.

Wally had shoved her into the hall hard enough for her to fall onto the floor, Lex barely having enough time to catch herself. A sharp pain stabbed at her wrist from where she landed, not having any time to look it over to check it wasn’t broken before Wally yanked her up from her vault suit collar. His eyes were ice cold, the way they usually got whenever he would go too far.

She didn’t know what she did to spark this other side of Wally, the only thing she knew at the moment was to fight him off of her and get as far away as possible from him.

Wally was whispering threats into her ear, his hot breath hitting her ear and causing disgust to grow in the pit of her stomach. She struggled in his hold, spitting out threats of her own at the other. A fist came down quickly at the side of her head, causing her vision to go black for a second.

“Show some respect.” He hissed, his face incredibly close to her face. “You don’t get to ignore me, you hear? Just because your Butch’s little fuck sleeve doesn’t mean you’re better than me.”

“Fuck you..” Lex hissed, spitting onto the other’s face. Wally flinched when it hit his face, his eyes narrowing in anger. One of his hands tightened around her throat, cutting off her air supply and causing Lex to struggle even more against him, before a fist collided against her nose. When the sharp feel of the hit throbbed at her nose, Wally punched her again, this time splitting her lip open.

Lex gasped out a cry of pain, one of her hands that were trying to unlatch the hand at her neck effectively grabbing onto the curled fist that was quickly coming down on her face again.

Just as her vision was fading into darkness from lack of oxygen, air rushed into her lungs at the sudden release from her neck. The sound of her name being screamed followed by the sound of heavy thuds kept her from passing out, Lex forcing herself from falling completely on the floor as well. Hands were on her while the thudding sounds continued next to her.

“She’s got ya wrapped around her finger and you don’t even know it!” Wally screamed, causing what sounded like something hitting the floor to follow. Before long, the sounds faded away and Lex’s vision was coming back.

Amata was in front of her, hands touching at her face, making sure she wasn’t on the verge of passing out again. A small smile tugged at her lips at the sight of her friend beginning to focus on her before her hazel eyes turned to look at the person who chased her attacker off.

Butch’s back was faced toward Lex, the gang emblem on his jacket staring her down. She could hear Amata talking to her, but could not make out any of the words she was saying.

She wanted him to turn around. To explain why he was here, with Amata. Why did he chase off his right hand man, tossing him around like a rag as though he really was nobody to him?

“Why?” Lex’s voice broke, strained from being strangled. Amata winced at the sound, turning her gaze to who her friend was speaking to.

Butch didn’t turn. Instead, he shoved his hands in his pocket, along with his Toothpick, before walking down the hallway. Lex made to get up but fell back down when her vision swirled. “Lex we need to get you to your dad.” Amata’s voice finally pierced through the fog in Lex’s head, her words finally making sense. She turned to her friend, and nodded, accepting Amata’s help to pick herself up from the floor.

By the time they began walking, Butch was already gone.

“Are you ok, Lex? Your neck doesn’t hurt?” Amata asked, giving Lex a very worried look. Her friend shook her head, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

The two girls turned the corner to walk down the stairs only to stop when they heard a small noise. “Did you hear that?” Lex turned to Amata who was looking around with a scared expression on her face.

“It sounded like.. Someone crying..” Amata whispered, grabbing onto Lex’s arm.

Lex continued down the stairs, dragging Amata down with her as the girl was hesitant to continue. The sounds grew louder and longer the further down they went, until they reached the bottom step.  

“Oh my god..”

Janice groaned, pulling at the opening of her vault suit, hoping to close it enough to cover up. Lex had already seen the bruises along her bare chest however, as well as the ones on her face to figure out what happened.

“Janice– Janice stay with me, we’re going to take you to the clinic ok?” Lex spoke quickly, making sure she was paying attention to her. Her pupils were not dilated, but she was blinking in and out of consciousness.  With how beat up her face was, it was possible for her to have gotten a concussion. “We’re taking you to the clinic, ok? Can you walk?”

A nod and a pained grunt was the only answer the two got before she grew quiet. Amata checked her pulse throughout their small walk to the clinic, making sure it didn’t drop any lower than it already was.

The halls of Vault 101 felt as quiet as the dead that afternoon.


	8. Pt. 2 Figuring it out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So since this is a continuation from the last chapter, be advised there is a bit talking about rape/rapists/sexual assault and some semi depressing thoughts but other than that it’s pretty much SFW :)

The doors to the clinic opened when the three got near, James standing in the middle of the room next to the Overseer and Jonas. His eyes widened at the sight of the girl the two had in their arms, quickly walking over to them. “Dear God, what happened?” **  
**

“W-we don’t know– we found her at the bottom of the stairs like this–”

“Dad, what are you doing here?” Amata asked her father when he pulled her to the side and away from Janice and Lex. The older man ignored her question.

“James.”

The doctor turned to look at the Overseer with a grim look,turning back to his daughter. “C’mon. She needs to be treated.”

Lex nodded, carrying Janice with Jonas’ help onto a clinic bed. The injured girl whimpered when she was placed on it before quieting down. “Janice, try to keep your eyes on me, ok?” Lex asked, her voice shaking just a little. Janice nodded, struggling to keep her eyes open. James and Jonas hurried about in the small clinic room, hooking Janice up to a heart monitor and a machine to help her breathing. Lex was pushed to the side by her father as he began to overlook any major visible injuries.

“Amata, go back to your apartment immediately.”

“But dad–”

“That’s an order young lady and I expect you to follow it.” He snapped, beginning to walk out of the clinic. “As of now, everyone is on house arrest! I expect you all to be inside your designated apartments in the coming hour!”

Lex looked on at the scene before the clinic door slammed shut behind the Overseer. Amata turned to her friend, exasperation clear on her face. It’s ok. Lex mouthed to her, looking like she was struggling over what to do as well.

“You should run along too, sweetie.” James spoke, appearing next to Lex. She turned to look at her father with a surprised look.

“I can help–!”

James shook his head at his daughter. “It would be better if you followed Alphonse’s orders for now. This is a serious situation, and I’d rather know you were safe and at home than wandering around or in here, seeing this.”

Amata placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder when she hesitated to move. “At least let us say goodbye..”

Before James could give an answer, Jonas quickly walked up to the doctor. “James, you need to see this.”

The two walked over to the clinic terminal, Lex following behind discretely along with Amata. The two stood next to Janice, Lex giving the girl a look over while she strained her ear to hear anything from the others. The right side of Janice’s face was turning a deep purple where it was beaten, the injuries along her chest now covered by bandages.

“The results came back positive.”

“Are you certain?” James whispered back, peeking at his daughter from the corner of his eye. Lex continued facing Janice, her hand rubbing small circles on the back of the girl’s hand. She was keeping her boiling emotions under control enough to elude suspicion from her knowing father.

“It matches when she was reassigned..”

The two whispered back and forth, now more quieter than before. It didn’t matter, Lex had heard enough.

A pit of misery grew in her throat, her bubbling anger making it hard for her to think clearly.

Janice was pregnant.

That awful monster of a security guard wasted no time in getting right down to it. It wouldn’t be a surprise if all of the other guards were the same, save for officer Gomez. He was the only one in the Vault who actually cared for the safety and well being of the Vault. The rest had the same disgusting mannerism as Stevie Mack, just the thought of any poor girl ending up with them made her want to vomit.

“C’mon Lex, we should go..” Amata pulled at her friend’s arm, urging her to leave. The two were both uncomfortable with the situation, but it looked like Amata was on the verge of fainting.

“Alright, let’s–”

Lex froze when something latched onto her hand, pinching at her skin with extreme force. Janice held onto her hand, her breathing coming out in ragged wheezes due to her struggling to breath combined with the mask around her face. Tears fell from her bloodshot eyes, followed by one final whimper of pain before she collapsed back onto the bed. The machines and IV bags she was connected to rattled with the force she fell next to her, frightening the two girls even more than they already were.

“Both of you, out.” James ordered, pushing the two out of the room. The door slammed behind the two when they were finally out of the room.

Amata was visibly shaken, quietly crying into her hand once outside of the clinic doors. Her quiet sounds barely registered to Lex, the feeling of the paper Janice had slipped into her hands drawing all of her attention.

The look Janice had given her frightened her to her core.

It came off as a look of warning, complete fear and emptiness in her dull, bloodshot eyes.

She had to read what the note said.

“Amata, go on ahead to your place.. I need to get Butch..” She whispered, her voice shaking just a bit. Amata didn’t even look at her before she quickly walked away.

The paper unfolded with crinkling noises due to dry blood pasting the folds together. Just the sight of blood made Lex hold back a whimper.

It was Janice’s blood.

—

Butch tossed the rag in his hands against the wall, walking back and forth in the middle of the barber shop. He had no idea what he should do, feeling completely useless waiting in a room with no clients and no work.

The talk he had with Amata earlier made him anxious to meet with Lex, but remembering when he walked away from her after pulling Wally off of her made his anger get the best of him. He couldn’t even look at her, much less speak to her then.

Wally was one of his closest friends, one he trusted completely and he had betrayed him. He laid his hands on Lex, hurted her enough that her voice sounded raw. And he had the audacity to say Lex was using him.

If anything, Butch was in total control of anything the girl threw at him. He was the one on top in the end, after all. Literally.

God dammit, he wanted to speak with Lex, to explain everything! The only thing that was stopping him was the thought of Lex rejecting him. It would cause her to want to be reassigned, and most likely end up with Wally, or worse, Wolfe. He couldn’t risk it, not when he could at least protect her while still abiding by her boundaries.

“For a man getting laid every night, you seem to be pretty frustrated.” A voice spoke up behind Butch, causing him to jump in surprise. He should not have been surprised to find Officer Wolfe looming at the doorway. “You are getting laid, right?”

The sight of the older man made him groan in irritation. He really did not want to deal with him. The old man always seemed to hound him at the worst times.

Wolfe clicked his tongue when Butch didn’t respond. “Your silence tells all.”

Large hands grabbed onto Butch’s shoulders, squeezing him painfully tight. “If she’s not letting you in between those lovely long legs of hers, you force them open, you hear me? Either you do it or I’ll come and pay a visit to show you how it’s done–”

“You lay a finger on her and–”

“Hoho! What’s this? Touchy now are we?” Wolfe laughed, giving Butch a smirk full of evil intent. The officer leaned in close, his warm breath hitting him like a wet towel to the face. The faint smell of alcohol stung his nose. “Just remember, kid, if you don’t do your job, I’ll be back to do it for you.”

“Like hell you will.” Butch spat, pressing his switchblade against the officer’s side.

With a smirk, the officer let go, dropping Butch down from the few inches he was unknowingly off the ground. He glared at the back of the old guard, making sure he was gone before collapsing on one of the chairs.

_What the hell was all that about?_

The damn situation felt sketchy as hell, as was anything having to deal with Wolfe. At least this time he didn’t break any more of his fingers.

—

Lex hesitated outside of the closed barber shop door, her hand frozen in front of the opening mechanism. She could hear the other grumbling to himself inside, or someone else. Was it really a wise idea to seek him out? It was clear that she was feeling anxious due to the situation with Janice, but also because of what happened earlier. Maybe Butch was still angry with her.

With a final sigh, Lex opened the door and stepped into the barbershop quietly, her hands wringing tightly together. Butch glanced behind him at the sound of the door opening. “I was told to get you.” She said with a quiet and still strained voice, avoiding looking at him directly. Her look was solemn and twitchy, her eyes glancing around her every few seconds.

“What do they want now–”

Lex interrupted him, her hand grabbing hold of his arm. It was shaking. “Something’s happened. We have to go to our apartments. Now.”

“Then you can go on your own.” Lex took a step back, catching herself before she stumbled when Butch yanked his arm away.

Everything was really becoming too much now. Amata was grounded in her house, most likely trying her hardest to process the whole situation and she really had no one else to talk to anymore. With the oncoming house arrest on everyone, she would be stuck by herself and her thoughts. It was all coming down to her that she would really, truly be on her own.

“Please..”

Her whimper made Butch whip around in his seat, looking at her in surprise as she crumpled down to the floor crying. Her hands were trembling and barely covering her face, evident scratches and redness showing how tightly she had been squeezing them. A stab of guilt in watching her become so hopeless dug through Butch’s chest. This was the second time she had broken down in front of him. The feelings he was harboring began to grow again at the sight, his heart aching as he made his way towards her. She was crying, her quiet voice barely making her words audible.

Without another word, Butch helped her up, making sure to not touch her too much in case she recoiled like she’s done before. She accepted the help, and even leaned on him slightly, as they made their way out of the shop and to their apartment.

It was nerve wracking, hearing her quietly sob as she took refuge on him. She had wrapped her arm around his, her other one continuing to wipe away at tears. He really did not know what had happened that could cause her to become so open about her weak and fragile side that so few people even knew she had. Whatever it was she would probably come up with a new plan to work herself out of it if she were in trouble. If it were that, she’d probably drag him into it like usual and everything would return to normal.

Once they were back at their place, Lex unlatched herself and walked to the bathroom. Butch heard her splash water around, watching her splash some on her face as he walked towards the kitchen. He grabbed a half empty bottle of whiskey and brought it towards her. She ignored it, walking towards the couch and sitting down instead. “You gonna tell me what happened now?” He asked, uncorking the bottle to drink from it himself. He sat down next to her, leaving an appropriate amount of distance.

Lex sighed, tangling her hands through her tight bun. “I could have helped her,” She started, shaking her head side to side. “If only I had gotten there faster, this never would have happened.”

“You’re saying all that, but you’re not telling me what exactly went down.”

Another sob ached in Lex’s throat, her pushing it back down before she broke down again. “We found Janice unconscious at the bottom of the stairs that leads to the clinic. She was beaten almost to death by someone and whoever it was left me a note.”

Chills ran down Butch’s spine when she pulled the note out from her pocket. It was tossed towards him, landing on the space between them on the couch. The blood stained paper was open so the  words were visible for him to see. The message was burned into Butch’s eyes, sounding similar to what he had heard not that long ago in the shop.

Lex sniffed, rubbing at her nose. “When she was brought to the clinic, my dad found out that aside from being beaten, she was also assaulted–” Her voice cracked at the word. “Sexually. When he ran a few more tests, the results came back positive.. she’s pregnant.” She crumbled in on herself, doubling over with her arm wrapped around her and her other hand in her hair. She struggled to control the cries that just would not stop.

Butch deadpanned at the information. Everything was beginning to click. Wolfe, Janice, the threats? The rules were meant to be followed, and they were bending them to suit their needs.

Wolfe knew. So he was planning on giving them a taste of their own medicine. That was the point of his visit.

It was a warning.

“Lex..” Butch opened his mouth to ask her a serious question, only to be interrupted by the Vault intercom coming to life.

“Residents of Vault 101. As of this moment, everyone will be under house arrest. Everyone will be stationed at their apartments with their paired partners until further notice.”

Lex made a noise of complete disgust, the tears from before were now replaced with anger. The old man didn’t even mention there was a rapist in the Vault. He didn’t mention that the reason for the house arrest was for the safety of the people of the Vault! _Why would he? He knows it was one of his goons who did it. He must know!_

A hand grasped at her shoulder, shaking her out of her angry thoughts. “Hey. I need you to listen to me.”

A rush of anxiety crawled down Lex’s back, not liking just how serious Butch looked. It was very off putting to see him staring at her with such focus in his eyes. “No matter what, you can’t leave my side.”

That caught her off guard. “Excuse me?” She grit the words through her teeth, her anger barely being held back by sheer will.

Butch took in a slow breath, dragging one of his hands down his face. “It’s the only way to keep you safe.” He said, trying hard to contain his frustration at not being able to communicate well.

“You really think I’d feel safer with you?” She spit, venom tinging her words. She looked him up and down as if he was crazy, which in the moment, he truly was, if he actually thought she would be ok with just letting him agree that he was better protection for her. “I’m not a meek little girl, I can protect myself. I don’t need you.”

Butch flinched at her words, his eyebrow twitching. “Would you really feel safer with _security_ watching over you? Or whoever is left for you to be reassigned to?” He uncurled his undamaged fingers, beginning to count off. “ _Freddy,_ who can be shoved to the floor by just about anyone smaller than him? _Steve,_ a kid younger than all of us who is basically a corpse? _Jonas? Wally_ then? Oh, yeah, he’ll protect you _real_ good, he made damn sure to show all of us how bad he wants to ‘protect’ you!”

Butch was yelling now, completely frustrated at Lex’s unwavering stubbornness.

Lex huffed, still angry. Butch did have a point. Out of anybody left, he was still the best person who could watch her back during this time. He had proved that when he sent Wally running.

“I can still handle my own.. despite how much sense you’re making.” Lex in the end, caved in, stepping back. She didn’t realize how in each other’s faces they had gotten until then.

Butch sighed. “I know. You’ve shown me just how tough you are, girl.” A smile teased at the corner of Butch’s mouth before it was wiped away when he looked away towards the couch.

Confused, and a bit flustered that Butch agreed that she was tough, Lex turned her gaze to what he was staring at.

The crumpled paper was an eyesore, sticking out like a sore thumb. The stained white clashed against the faded red color of the couch, seeming to threaten Lex by its presence alone.

“It was Wolfe.” Butch stated.

When Lex looked away from the paper, she was met with blue eyes staring at her.

“What?”

“Wolfe told me these exact words, minutes before you came in.” he walked towards the sofa, grabbing the paper and balling it up in his hand. “That’s why we need to stick together.”

“You watch my back, I’ll watch yours..” Lex nodded, swallowing at a lump in her throat. Fear crept up along her back at just the thought of being so close to the man who basically caused the Vault to shut down seemingly minutes after he finished assaulting Janice. She wrapped her arms around herself, holding back a shudder. “Alright Butch. We’ll work together.”

Butch smiled, ducking his head down as he passed her by to go to the bathroom sink, in order for her not to see how happy he truly was. Once at the sink, he lit a match, holding it below the note and letting it catch.

“Is that supposed to mean something?”

Butch turned his head, raising an eyebrow at Lex. “What?”

“Y’know, like a metaphor.” she said, pointing a finger towards the burning paper. Butch just gave her a look.

“I’m just burning it, you fucking nerd.”

Lex hummed, cheeks turning a little pink. “You did it to look cool didn’t you?”

Butch laughed, “Don’t you ever shut up?” He hissed an intake of breath when the flame licked at his fingertips, dropping the scrap of paper into the sink.

A rush of excitement swept through Lex’s chest at the sound of Butch’s laughter. It was such a dorky sound but just hearing it made her hopeful. He didn’t get mad at her teasing this time.

That was at least a good start to their partnership.

—

When the next morning came, they were greeted with the same stale, cold, recycled air. Lex paced and paced around the room, waiting for a message to come from the intercom, to lift the house arrest. No such thing came an hour into the work day. Or the hour after. Or the hour after that hour.

“This isn’t good for the Vault.” Lex groaned, rolling onto her back on the couch. She tossed the book she was reading to the floor behind her. Butch watched the book flop next to him from where he sat on the floor, busy opening and closing his Toothpick. The book slid across the floor until it almost hit a piece of furniture. “An unproductive Vault is a bad Vault.”

“Who cares about the Vault.” Butch sighed, closing his knife and opening it again.

“I care, because I live in it. Also, I’d probably end up having to fix a lot of stuff after this.”

Butch made a mocking face, rolling his eyes. “Well aren’t you such a goody two shoes?”

Lex snorted. “ I just don’t want more work on top of what I already have. I’m one of the only damn programmers this Vault has.”

She rolled back onto her stomach, eyeing the distance in which the book flew from her toss. She then turned to look at Butch, who returned to flipping open and close his knife.

“Pass me my book.”

_Swish_

“You’re the one who threw it, get it yourself.”

_Click_

“But you’re right there!”

_Swish_

“Then go get another one if you’re too lazy to get this one.”

_Click_

“I don’t have any others.”

_Swish_

Lex let out a groan, reaching out her arm as far as she could to reach the book. It only caused the book to be pushed further under the cabinet next to the couch.

Click

Butch laughed into his hand while he watched her struggle. She made a final sound of defeat before she gave up, the whole book now completely underneath the piece of furniture.

_Swish_

“Butch..!” Lex whined, dangling half off the couch. “I thought we were partners..”

**Thunk**

The sound caused Lex to snap her head up from where she was dangling, eyeing the gleam of the knife stuck into the table.

Butch got up from the floor, dusting himself off before turning to her. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“Gonna get you a new book.” He replied nonchalantly despite how irritated he looked. He yanked his Toothpick free from the table, closing it with a final _click_ before putting it back in his pocket.

Lex was confused. “Why?”

“What, does the sound of a new book not sound good to you?” he turned towards her, pulling her up by the hand.

“Wai– Wait, wait!!” She cried, yanking her arm back. Butch’s hand paused at the door’s button. “We’re going outside?”

Butch nodded.

“Why?”

He sighed leaning heavily on the door in frustration. “Because you get irritating when you got nothing to do, and I sure as hell don’t wanna be cooped up in here with you complaining all the damn time.”

Lex still wasn’t convinced. “Then why am I going too? You can just go out on your own without me.” she huffed, crossing her arms across her chest.

“Because we’re partners.” He grinned, winking mischievously at her. Lex took a step back, feeling as though she walked right into that. He pressed the button for the door and began to walk backwards, tugging her by the arm into the empty hallway.

The two walked silently down the corridors, now and then waiting a few seconds before checking the corners.

“You’re such a slowpoke.” Lex chided, pushing the other along when they stopped for too long.

They made it to the next floor up, a hallway away from the clinic and the diner.

“Then you take lead, your highness.” Butch hissed back. They exchanged a look, both sizing the other up. It was Lex who shoved Butch to the side and rounded the corner, pulling him along behind him. His heart fluttered when he almost crashed into her smaller frame at her sudden stop.

“Where are we going again?”

A giggle almost slipped past his lips at her question. She gave him a glare when all he did was stare at her with laughter in his eyes.

“To the library you dummy–”

The sound of a door opening behind them caught their attention, both snapping their heads in the direction of the sound. Quickly ducking behind a power conserver proved fruitful as one of Security walked past.

The two were completely hidden, listening intently at the Officer’s footstep walking nearby. It was only when the sound faded out did the two let out the breath they were holding in.

“Let’s stay here a while..” Lex breathed, leaning against the cold metal of machine. Her heart was racing a mile a minute, seeming unable to calm down.

Why was she out here? Why did she get so swept up with everything she forgot that there was a rapist patrolling the area? One that’s next target was her? She felt so stupid, she needed to go back to her apartment and just hide. She needed to–

“Hey.” A hand touched at her face, drawing her attention back into reality and away from her thoughts. Butch was staring at her. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

Lex sighed, covering her face with her own hand when Butch pulled his away. “My hero.” she chuckled. Butch looked away, hiding the blush spreading on his cheeks. _Get a hold of yourself Lex. As long as we don’t run into Wolfe, everything is fine._

With a final sigh, Lex pushed herself to stand. Butch was waiting, watching over her until she felt she was ready to continue forward. He let her take lead when she was, following close behind.

It wasn’t until they were passing the clinic to get to the stairs did Butch speak up. Their soft footsteps in the quiet halls made him uneasy, on alert, which caused his attention to drift. It was at the sight of the curtained windows of the clinic that a thought occurred to him. “You don’t want to check in on Jan?” he asked, hesitantly touching Lex’s hand to get her attention.

She didn’t look back as they continued walking when she answered, “No.”

Without another word, the two continued up the stairs.

The question was innocent at most, Butch figured. He understood Lex was the kind to get protective towards people who were defenseless. She hated seeing people hurt, which was one of the major reasons why she learned as much as she could about medicine from her father even though she knew she was set on the path of a tech engineer for the Vault.

It was one of the reasons why he considered her so irritating growing up. He saw her as a star child, a kid that other parents compared their kids to.

Funny enough, the reason why a younger Butch envied Lex, a younger Lex envied Butch for being the exact opposite of what she was.

She was reminded of just how emotionally invested in others she would get whenever she passed the clinic. It took all she had for her to say _No_. Butch never seemed to care. He always seemed to emit a distant vibe when they grew up, even towards his friends. He would laugh when they got hurt or get into fights with other kids over nothing.

She envied that. How many less problems would she have if she couldn’t feel as much over people than she does now? If she didn’t care, and kept people at a distance, just how many people would be safer?

Lex pulled herself out of her thoughts, wrapping her arms around her as she rounded a corner. No. She knew it was bad to think like that. Blaming herself would only cause depression to manifest in her. It already took her job, workload, and hobbies to keep her mind away from those cruel images.

At the turn of the corner, Butch happened to look up, remembering that they were supposed to be sneaking towards their destination. It seemed that both were deep in their thoughts when he saw Lex round a corner without checking to make sure the coast was clear. Luck seemed to be on their side when he spotted, further down the hall, both Wolfe and Stevie walking towards them. The two security guards were talking to each other, completely oblivious to the two trespassing young adults.

Thinking on his feet, he pulled Lex into his arms, both turning back into the empty alley way they came from. Butch looked around the corner, peeking out carefully to make sure neither were seen. Lex’s heart jumped into her throat at the sudden change, not knowing what to do pressed up against the other’s chest. She could hear his heartbeat in his chest, feeling how warm he was under his jacket where her hand had slipped in during the turn.

Wolfe and Stevie turned the corner opposite of them, completely unaware they had almost ran into the other two wandering outside of their apartments.

A sigh of relief escaped Butch when the coast was clear, the two officers having walked into a different part of the hall that was separated by a door. When the door shut behind them, he let the arms he had around Lex fall next to them and against the cold wall. Lex, in return, pulled away quickly, seeming to be intrigued by the strands of hair that escaped her bun and completely unaware of who she almost bumped into.

She willed her heart to stop beating so hard from the surprise, catching Butch staring at her when she bravely glanced over to him. His face was slightly flushed, with his bottom lip ever so slightly tucked under his teeth. He cocked his head to the side, towards the direction they were going. “C’mon.”

The hallway that lead them to the Vault’s library was barren, seeming to appear that all of the officers were mainly patrolling the apartment sector of the Vault. Lex sighed when they shut the library’s door behind them, the lights flickering on once the room sensed their movement. Butch had already wandered off to a corner of the library, sitting on the edge of a desk as he watched the other float around the bookshelves.

Knowing that they were alone, yet again, made Lex a bit nervous. Having been wrapped in Butch’s arms caused the memory from _that night_ to resurface.

It was so long ago, all Lex wanted to do was forget it. Getting close like _that_ with Butch was a bad idea. Even if he was acting nicer and more of a gentleman than a childhood bully.

Maybe she was a bit biased. Any knowledge she had about romance and relationships came from pre-war novels. In those, there was clear distinction between a relationship with a happy ending and a relationship with a bad ending. And in each of those bad endings, the couple always fought or had a bad start. Then again, all of them were drama novels and fiction.

All she had to compare these conflicting feelings with were bad novels. She had never felt anything like she did now towards anybody before and she was too embarrassed to ask others about it, worried that she might just get laughed at. She, in her 19 years of growing up in Vault 101, had never heard of a Vault Dweller feeling no attraction towards another person. From Mrs. Palmer retelling tales of her younger days, to just reading a history book of the Vault, it was apparent she was the odd one out.

“Having trouble there?” Butch asked from beside her, Lex not realizing when he had gotten so close. He reached above her to a book he assumed she was reaching for, plucking it out of the bookshelf and handing it to her. She accepted with a quiet _Thank you_ before she ducked away to another bookshelf.

Again, the odd rushing feeling caused the inside of her chest to feel like an atom bomb was going off. She peeked through the bookshelf toward Butch, watching him without him noticing.

He was looking around, seeming to take time to skim through any book that caught his eye. Surprising enough, he settled on a rather thick book to read through, settling down to sit and read it on the carpeted floor.

“Good book?” Lex popped up behind the short bookcase Butch had his back to. He glanced at her before continuing to read, making sure to hide the cover with his arm when she sat down next to him, placing her own large pile of books in between them.

From a quick glance, the book Lex began to read was of the fantasy adventure kind, comparable to a Grognak comic without the pictures. If he remembered correctly, it was a continuation of the book she had in their apartment. “That the only book you ever read?”

Lex’s heart jumped to her throat. “Huh?” she squeaked out stupidly. She looked down to her book and back to Butch who gave her a look. “Oh, uh, yeah. It’s a good.. story?”

“Right.”

Butch returned to reading his own book, completely oblivious to how awkwardly flustered Lex felt next to him. _Why am I freaking out? There’s no reason to be freaking out! Calm down and read your book Lex._ She thought to herself, urging her thoughts to quiet down so she could properly read her book and find out what happens next.

The sound of leather moving next to her almost made her become distracted if it weren’t for the plot thickening. She continually flipped page after page, completely enthralled by the story.

 _This just isn’t fair–_ Butch internally held in a sigh of frustration, trying to  focus completely on his book but failing when he glanced back over to the girl next to him. She was slightly hunched over her book with her knees to her chest, using it as a place for her book to rest against. _–how can she possibly be this damn cute?_

He closed his book, placing it next to him on the floor. Toothpick appeared in his hands, now flipping open and closed again like before. His nerves were getting to him.

Guilt was beginning to settle in him again, realizing just how close the two had gotten in such a short amount of time. Sure, she had agreed to be partners, but he wanted more. He _knew_ he wanted more. Having talked with Amata allowed him to realize and accept that he had feelings for Lex. Guilt was the only thing preventing him from confessing.

There was no way he deserved her. Recalling the number of times he lost his temper because of her since yesterday was proof enough for him. She deserved someone better, someone who she didn’t have to fight with, someone with whom she never fought with. He was just a scumbag who picked on her because she was little miss perfect, and all he was was a fatherless brat with a drunkard for a mother.

“Something on your mind?”

The sound of her soft voice pulled him from his dark, morbid thoughts. She had put down her book and set it to the side, concern visible on her face. She was truly worried over him. When he didn’t answer, she turned to face him with her body, inching just a little bit closer towards him with her hands resting in her lap. He looked at her and realized then and there just how much he truly needed her.

Butch shifted in his seat, his hand tentatively reaching for hers. Lex watched in awe at a blush spreading across his face, her eyes widening at the realization of what was about to happen. “Look,” he began, “hear me out..”

Her heart began to race. Not out of fear or panic, but out of anticipation. There was a tugging feeling in her chest as she watched him struggle with his words. “I’m ok in.. showing that we’re actually committed, y’know, in public.. instead of pretending like we always do.” He coughed, his hand squeezing hers gently. “If you don’t want to.. Ah, go further than that then we can just follow your plan. About faking everything and pretend this never happened. Is.. is that ok?”

It caught her off guard how willing Butch was now compared to a few weeks ago. He was already a lot more affectionate than before but still continued with his tough guy facade while still respecting her boundaries. “Butch..” she heard herself whisper, Butch finally looking towards her. He waited for her to continue. “I.. Are you ok?” She blinked, feeling her hands begin to tremble.

The Tunnel Snake deflated, the little confidence he had from before now gone. He laughed a pitiful laugh before answering, retracting his hand from hers. “You don’t trust me still?”

Lex shook her head, grabbing hold of his hand this time. “It kinda feels like.. Something happened or you found out you’re on death’s door.” she joked, but was completely, seriously worried.

He smiled. It was a soft smile, the kind where the eyes would sparkle and no creases were visible on the face. The kind that could completely change someone’s appearance for the better. If only he would smile like that more often.

That smile caused her face to warm up in pink, the color dusted just on the corners of her cheekbones and the tips of her ears.  

It caused a flower to bloom in her chest, replacing the chaotic nuke explosion from before, and awakening a part of her completely for what seemed like the first time ever in her life.

But just like with anything new, it dawned on her that she didn’t know exactly what to do with it. If she tinkered with it, like any other type of machinery she would find, there was a chance she could break it and it would be gone forever.

No. This thing, despite sprouting because of someone she did not expect to develop anything with that wasn’t hatred towards, would be protected and hidden away. She did not want it to wilt or be destroyed. There was no way she would let any harm come to it.

It would be her cherished secret.

“So what d’you say?” he tentatively asked, looking away from her unwavering gaze once again. He coughed to clear his throat and snap himself out of his flustered thoughts at the same time, before turning back to her for her answer. Lex blinked a couple of times, face a light red now.

Lex swallowed at the lump in her throat. “Yeah,” she squeaked. “Y-yeah, I’m ok with being publicly affectionate.” The grimace that came after her awkwardly worded reply caused Butch to snort out a laugh.

“You damn nerd!” He giggled, covering his face with his hand. _How? How and why did I have to fall head over heels for her?_

Lex blushed at his laughter, looking away in embarrassment towards her lap. Her blush only seemed to deepen at the realization that she was still holding his hand with both of hers against her lap.

The glove he was wearing felt rough on her skin, aged wrinkles from where his hand would fold where his palm met his fingers lightly scratched at her naked palm. His hand was gigantic compared to hers and seemed to radiate heat. Her heart skipped a beat when she felt his hand flex in hers, quickly pulling away.

Butch was watching her, the smile from before still on his face. Half of his face was still covered by his hand but Lex could still see the blush dusted over his cheeks. She avoided his gaze by turning her attention to the baby hairs near her ears, twirling the strands between her fingers in a nonchalant fashion. “Aw, are you blushing? Did I make you blush?” Butch teased, using the hand that was held to poke at Lex’s cheek. It only made her blush harder. He continued poking, switching to pinching her cheek gently when she didn’t respond.

Inside of Lex’s brain was havoc. She didn’t know how to respond, if she even could respond. Butch was still pinching her cheek with a smug look on his face, completely enraptured at just how squishable her cheeks were. The look on his face just caused her to sigh in defeat, grabbing his hand and trying to pull it away, only for him to pull her cheek along with it. “Owww! Butch!”

“Heheheh.” he laughed, using both of his hands to squish her face. It caused her to emit a sound closely comparable to a frustrated squeal.

Lex pulled back, trying her hardest to yank away from the other to get him to stop, Butch following her and not allowing her to escape. The leverage she had shifted when she began to pull back, causing her hand to slip when she placed it on the book she was reading before.

The sound of her head hitting the thinly carpeted floor reverberated in the empty library, followed by a pain filled groan. “Shit, sorry Le…x”

Butch felt the blush spread over his cheeks, realizing when Lex had fallen back, he had fallen on top of her, one of his hands still touching her face while the other caught him from falling and crushing her. Lex seemed to be just as surprised at their position, her face burning a bright red at how close they were.

The thoughts from before, from that night when they were very close, flooded both of their minds, freezing both in place from moving. _This was the same position when he.. When I.._ Lex’s thoughts swam with images from that night. The way Butch looked with his hair unkempt, the smoldering unwavering look he had when he watched her ride her high was so similar to how he was looking at her now.

He definitely should get off of her, he thought, trying to process what the look she had on her face meant. Her eyes looked distant which meant she wanted him off of her right now or she was thinking of that time too. _Damn.. I’m really gone.._ He sighed, pushing himself off of her and rolling to the side.

Lex was still laying frozen in place, eyes blinking slowly at the metal ceiling overhead. At least Butch wasn’t on top of her anymore to distract her with his face. The memories from before were beginning to subside.

“I did a pretty messed up thing.” She whispered.

“Bet you your messed up thing don’t compare to what I’ve done.” Butch whispered back. He looked at her in surprise when her finger touched his hand. “Nobody’s perfect. Not even doc’s kid.”

Lex breathed a laugh, pushing herself up to sit. Her hand squeezed his gently, earning a squeeze back. The gentle comfort eased the tension that was rising, putting out the fire of doubt trying to take. A small smile played at Lex’s lips when she turned to look at Butch. He was still laying on his back with his eyes closed. “Let’s head back before we get caught.” she shoved at him gently, urging him to get up. Butch hummed before sitting up, watching from the corner of his eye Lex standing and beginning to pick up her books.

She wanted to apologize to him, for being so untrustworthy in the beginning, taking out her anger on him and for forcing him into situations they both clearly were not ready for. Fear was a huge part to blame in her decision choice and she let it control her too easily, she didn’t stop to think how Butch must have felt. He must have been scared, even if he didn’t show it.

All of her thoughts were jumbled up, she couldn’t think clearly enough to figure out a solution to her problems without creating any more. Setting aside the possible infatuation growing she had way too many problems to even know where to start.

It was only when she felt the weight of the books in her hands lighten that her thoughts began to clear. The sight of Butch carrying her books for her caused her heart to do a somersault inside her chest, throwing those confused budding feelings to the top of her pile of things to fix.

 _Understanding what these feelings are would probably be a good way to start._ Lex thought, walking alongside Butch back to the safety of their apartment.


	9. Closer

_Wind howled around them, rustling the dry yellow strands growing from the ground. The orange light slowly falling from the sky was blinding but… warm._

_“Where am I?” Lex whispered to the wind, feeling its soft caress graze her skin. The area around her seemed endless and empty yet felt familiar._

_The vast emptiness and ongoing plains brought a sense of easiness over her. It embraced her like a home._

_“Lex..” a voice called out to her, familiarity playing with her memories. She knew who it was but couldn’t put her finger on it, her thoughts feeling hazy. “Lex..”_

_“Who?”  she asked, feeling the wind turn with her as she looked around for the owner of the voice._

_“Lex wake up.”_

Butch was shaking her awake from her dream, his hand on her shoulder pulling back when she managed to open her eyes. Her hand rubbed at her eyes, her vision blurring in and out of focus.

She was on their bed, with the books she took from the library scattered around where she was sleeping. “Mm. What’s up?”

“Amata’s here.” Butch responded.

“Lockdown was lifted?” she sat up quickly, the old books scattering as they almost dropped to the floor. “For how long?”

Butch shrugged, scratching the back of his head. “Ten minutes ago, I think. Who cares.” At the uninterested reply, Lex couldn’t help but roll her eyes, watching as he made his way outside and past Amata, noticing he gave her a small wave just before exiting.

Lex rubbed the sleep from her eyes, yawning away the after nap sluggishness. She didn’t bother adjusting her undone bun dangling on the back of her head as she walked out of the bedroom to meet with Amata.

At the sight of her best friend, Amata’s face seemed to light up just slightly. “Hey Lex. Were you asleep?” The one questioned yawned, sitting down at her friends feet and earning a small laugh from her. Amata carefully reached out and began to fix her best friend’s hair, combing through the curly strands carefully with her fingers. “Lex, I need to talk to you about something important..”

“I’m not going to talk about what happened with Jan.” Lex interrupted, letting out a frustrated huff of air. The fingers in her hair stopped.

“We need to go through with Project protocols.”

Silence filled the room, the air being pumped in suddenly feeling awfully stuffy at that precise moment. At first, Lex thought she had misheard or didn’t hear her words right, until Amata continued.

“Having babies is something both of us are eventually going to have to do anyway. I’d rather have a baby with someone who I know will be the father and be there for the baby, than being raped by god knows who, and being left half dead at the bottom of the stairs–”

“Have you forgotten what they’ve done to you? What hell they put us through?” Lex cried, yanking herself from her friend’s side to turn around on the floor to face her. “They’re no better than–”

“Pauly’s not like that.” Amata stated, her cheeks flushing crimson. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she stared down at her friend, completely serious. “He’s changed. He would never do anything like that to me.”

“How do you know.”

Amata looked away for a split second before looking back with a look of complete confidence. “Because I love him. And he loves me.”

Lex’s eyes widened. “Amata. You didn’t.”

She scoffed at her friend, her face burning red. “You had teased me about it before, why are you surprised now?” Hazel eyes were met with intense dark brown.

“Because I was joking!” Lex screeched, tangling her fingers in her hair.

“And? You can’t tell me you don’t feel something towards Butch now; you two are so domestic around each other more than when you two were pretending.” Amata’s tone was teasing, but at the sight of her friend curling in on herself she stopped herself from going further than that.

Lex picked at a loose string on the leg of her vault suit. “I don’t know what I feel toward him.” She admitted, avoiding the others line of sight. It was only yesterday she had admitted to herself that she was growing feelings for Butch, but she was still confused as to what the feelings were. Friendship? Romance? Mutual respect? There was nothing she could compare them to.

“You..” Amata hesitated, swallowing down whatever she was about to say. She began to think it over again before she reached toward her friend. Lex slid over, laying her head in her friend’s lap. “Lex.. you know he likes you right?”

“He confessed to me today.” Amata heard Lex mumble against her thigh. She pulled her friend away to look her in the eye. “Kinda.”

“And what did you tell him?” Amata practically squealed in excitement. The look directed toward her made Lex feel embarrassed.

She rubbed at her temple, not knowing where to start. “Um..” She could feel her face begin to grow warmer at remembering the moment that occurred not that long ago. “Well, he kinda started off that we needed to depend on each other. Then he said..”

The girls shared a look, Amata waiting patiently for her friend to continue. Lex swallowed down an anxious bubble in her throat before she continued, twice as embarrassed at how corny she must sound. “He said he wanted to..”

“He wanted to what?!! God Lex, spit it out already! I’m on the edge of my seat here!” Amata all but screamed, shaking her friend’s shoulders with how impatient she was. In return, it caused Lex to raise her voice as well, the only difference between her compared to her friend was the peaking level of embarrassment.

“He wanted to be more romantic, and mean it, what the hell does that even mean, Amata?!”

“Lex you useless virgin, it means he’s serious in going steady with you!” Amata roared in return.

Throughout their intense discussion, the two girls failed to notice the topic of the conversation opening the door to his shared apartment, arms full of junk food. He was met with Lex yelling, “Shut up! You only lost it in the last 24 hours, you’re no better than me!” at her friend who was still shaking her from her seat on the couch.

The scene reminded Butch of when the Vault gossip crew would get in a heated discussion over pointless rumors. _Like a bunch of chickens_. He found himself thinking, remembering hearing his mother call the group of gossiping women that.

—

Lex sighed to herself, rubbing the back of her neck. The tense muscle throbbed under her touch. With so many things happening in the span of a few weeks she was surprised her neck or back hadn’t locked up with stress.

But she couldn’t get distracted and bother worrying over everything when she had a pile of work waiting for her. After Amata had left, Lex took one look at all the snacks Butch was stuffing into their fridge and decided to get something to eat for herself before sitting down and getting to work for who knows how long. Butch was going to skip out on work considering it was already well past the afternoon.

It seemed many of the other young Vault residents had the same idea, considering how empty the halls were. Through the window of the diner, Lex saw that aside from Andy working the counter, a few of the older Vault residents were floating around inside eating their lunch.

Once at the counter, she grabbed a sandwich and an ice cold NukaCola before turning to head out the door and to her work room.

“Lexie, wait!” A voice called out to her, a hand at her arm pulling her back gently. It was Beatrice. “Are you going to your job? Can you please come with me, I have something important to give you.” Her quick words caught Lex off guard, watching as the other one quickly sped out of the diner. Lex felt inclined to ignore her but out of sheer curiosity of what the mad woman had to show her, she followed not far behind.

It had almost slipped her mind that the woman worked at all, until they were both entering the library. Beatrice pulled out a key to the librarian’s desk, her desk, and unlocked the top drawer.

Lex placed her food down on a nearby table, wondering just what the other woman wanted to give her. _She probably saw how negative my aura was or something and wants to give me a tarot reading_. Lex laughed to herself as Beatrice approached.

“I believe this belongs to your dear husband.” she smiled, placing Butch’s switchblade in her hand. The cold metal brought a chilling realization to Lex. Someone found out they had broken the Vault lockdown, disobeying the Overseer’s command of staying in their apartments.

Lex shifted on her feet, fidgeting with the switchblade in her hand. Beatrice smiled at her, completely unaware how uncomfortable the other girl felt.

Beatrice was famously known as the Vault’s gossip hound, so for her to know that she was out of their apartment during lockdown was bad news. “You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?” she asked the older woman who just stared at her. Beatrice blinked her large doe eyes at Lex, not understanding just what she was asking.

“Of course not! What’s there to tell? Two lovebirds lip locking somewhere outside of their home?” she laughed, the irritating sound grating at Lex’s nerves.

“We weren’t.”

“Oh my.” The old woman seemed to blush at the further misunderstanding.

Flustered, Lex quickly tried correcting herself. “We weren’t doing that either!” _Geez lady, get your mind out of the gutter.._ The woman seemed a bit disappointed at that, the hand she used to cover her mouth in surprise now placed on her cheek.

“Well that’s no good. You young ones are responsible to bring in the next generation!” Beatrice exclaimed, huffing out a frustrated breath. Lex rolled her eyes.

“I don’t know about you, but, I can’t see myself making love to someone I don’t find attractive.” The young adult let out a pitiful laugh, becoming depressed at the thought. Having sex without attraction was unheard of, and from what she’s heard from other women in the Vault, it was something to look down upon and pity the person for. She really did not want to take those words to heart, but considering the huge responsibility placed on them, it was something she was eventually going to have to deal with.

Beatrice seemed to contemplate the younger woman’s words, tapping her index finger against her chin before a lightbulb went off in her head. “So you admit, you love Butch then?” she smiled innocently, leading Lex back to the table in which she left her lunch at. The girl blushed when she realized what she had accidentally admitted, to both Beatrice and herself. Why she decided to use the term ‘making love’ instead of ‘having sex’ was unknown, when she preferred using the former term. Beatrice gave her a knowing look from across the table, a small book seeming to appear out of nowhere in her hands. The small tattered thing was placed into Lex’s hands, the faded cover making it impossible to know what it was about.

“I never married for a similar reason.” the woman said, her voice sounding as if it belonged to a completely different person, one who wasn’t known for spreading gossip. It sounded wise beyond years. “Of course, there was no protocol forcing us to be paired off like you kids. But beside that, I understand what you must be going through. Wondering if you’ll be able to do that at all, while feeling confusing and conflicting feelings. Wondering if you are broken.” A sad, distant look crossed the older woman’s face for a split second before it disappeared, a forced smile hiding the age old pain. “Every girl talked about kissing and other frisky things with the one they fancied, giggling over their words as if it was the best thing that could happen, and yet there you were, sitting by yourself not understanding how any of that sounded fun.”

Beatrice’s words struck a chord within Lex.

“Suddenly I was alone and everybody was happily in pairs. The bundle of joys they would hold and show off was proof that you did not fit into the category the Vault expected you to be in.” she sighed, folding Lex’s fingers over the old book. “When I found this book, it lifted any doubt I had of being unfit for what the Vault required, when it was the Vault that decided and changed what was exactly unfit for it. In the world before the Vaults, the kind of person we are was normal and common. We weren’t shunned for seeing and feeling things differently.”

It amazed Lex, just how profound and wise the one woman nobody took seriously in the Vault, actually was. Before she was able to offer her thanks, her eyes caught sight of the time on the clock above Beatrice’s desk. “Oh fu–! Thank you– gotta go!!” Lex blubbered out, scrambling to grab her food and head back to work. She contemplated taking the book, looking at it and her full hands before looking at Beatrice.

At her reassuring smile, Lex nodded, tucking the book into her Vault suit. “Hold on to it for as long as you like, dear!” Beatrice called out, embarrassing Lex even more. She quickly rushed out of the library, biting into her sandwich hungrily as she made her way down to her work room. With the day nearing to an end, she hoped she could squeeze in a bit of studying into her work load.

—

His hand traced along her jaw, fingers tucking loose strands of hair behind her ear. His other hand held her against the curve of her back, careful touches reassuring her he wouldn’t do anything she didn’t like.

Shaky breath escaped from Lex’s parted lips, Butch’s baby blue eyes tracing along the skin hungrily. He wanted more than just touching.

He wanted her whole. Her reciprocation, her trust, her feelings. The anguish in his eyes let her know that it hurt him that she still didn’t understand what she meant to him. He wanted to earn her.

If she allowed him to.

Her hand slowly slid up his bare arms, feeling the muscles underneath his tan skin twitch at her touch. Butch breathed in deeply when her hand reached his jaw, her thumb running across his plump bottom lip. He kissed at the digit, eyes never once leaving the others gaze. The hungry gaze was there although it was kept in check through sheer willpower.

The strength seemed to waver when Lex’s thumb slipped between lips and teeth, coming into contact with warm wetness. A smile pulled at Butch’s lips, tongue playfully flicking against her thumb.

Whatever restraint remained, shattered when Butch gently bit down, Lex practically jumping into his lap for closer contact.

Her body felt incredibly warm, the hands running up and down her body with feverous touches only seeming to make it worse. She didn’t know what she wanted exactly, except to be as close as she could possibly get to the man in front of her.

It was when blue reunited with hazel that their mouths pressed fervently together, crushing any escaped gasps either let out between their lips. Small hands tangled themselves in midnight dark hair, earning a pleased hum of approval. Larger hands gripped along the clothes around her hips carefully to prevent frightening the other away.

“May I..” Butch whimpered, the noise almost sounding like a pleading beg when Lex tugged at his bottom lip gently. “May I belong to you?” he asked finally, breathing out a happy sigh when she opened her mouth to swallow his words whole.

The words that came next almost did not seem to belong to her, a different, deeper, sultry tone compared to her voice.

“You may..”

Lex awoke with a start, eyes staring blankly at the metal ceiling. The blankets tangled around her legs prevented her from moving away from the warm body breathing calmly next to her.

She turned her body in order to face him, the arm he had wrapped around her waist pulling her closer gently in his sleep.

There was a soft shade of stubble growing along his jaw. Touching it scratched at the tips of her fingers and the palm of her hand. She had never noticed before how quickly stubble would grow on Butch until recently when the two had grown closer.

_May I belong to you?_

His words repeated in her head. They weren’t his words exactly, but in that small span of dream it caused her to look at him differently.

Would he look like that, if they took the next step? Would he look at her with hunger in his eyes when he would take her for the first time?

Would passion consume her like it did in her dream when he finally had her?

Lex was asking herself these questions but she really could not see themselves losing it like in her dream. It was so out of character for Butch to be begging for her approval and for her to jump into his lap like a sprung teen with their first lover it almost made her laugh. There was no way either would end up acting in such a way.

 _How do two people behave during.. **That** though?_ She thought, idly brushing a curled strand of hair away from Butch’s sleeping face. He curled in closer at her touch. _What about after? Do they say thanks? Slap their butt like at the end of a baseball game?_

“You’re mumbling..” Butch’s husky, sleep toned voice surprised her out of her thoughts. He was awake and watching her with half lidded eyes.

“Just thinking.” Lex offered, feeling herself blush when Butch tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. _Thinking of your sex face… not like I’d let you know that though._ She sighed to herself. Her eyes caught the clock on top of their dresser, informing her it was half past six in the morning.

Butch shifted beside her, tugging her along with him as he rolled over onto his back. “Well stop thinking and go back to sleep.”

He grumbled discouragingly at her response, turning them both over so they were now laying on their sides, old white bed sheets tucked under their two bodies. Lex held in a giggle when the others stubble rubbed at her forehead, pushing him gently to escape the sensation. It only brought a sleepy smile to Butch’s face when he tried getting closer to her again.

Until he suddenly stopped. He yanked her off and held her an arms distance away. Lex was silent with surprise, shocked at the sudden change. Before she could ask him what was wrong, he quickly untangled the bed sheets from under them and moved the leg she unknowingly had hooked around the others waist.

At the sudden gap of cloth between them, Lex quickly looked down in time to notice the tent in Butch’s boxer briefs before the other managed to turn away. _Oh. **Oh.**_

Of course, of course he would have a reaction. It was a normal thing for men to experience something like that in the morning, combined with the closeness of which they were just in– Lex felt embarrassed she had forgotten Butch would experience such a thing.

During the time she took processing the situation, Butch had stood away from their bed and managed to walk to the door without the other realizing, hoping to relieve himself in the bathroom. He was half as mortified as he was embarrassed. To have gotten so aroused so quickly, during an innocent exchange with Lex that was nowhere near erotic as what they had done before.

“Wait!” Lex spoke up, grabbing onto the tank top he was wearing before he could walk out the door. He looked back at her in mild surprise, Lex swallowing at the lump in her throat while her face bloomed in a scarlet color.

She looked away, swallowing down her hesitation before moving the hand she had on his shirt onto his arm, gently pulling him back to the bed. Butch was frozen in surprise, watching her pull the tank top she was wearing over her head.

He hissed an intake of breath, marveling at the sight of her naked breasts. His staring deepened the blush on both their faces, sweat beginning to form in the curled fist he had around the bed sheets. A strong throb pulsed within his briefs, swelling against Lex’s hand when she reached inside. When Butch didn’t move she carefully pulled out the member.

“He-hey! Wait– Lex wait!” flustered, Butch pulled her hand away, moaning quietly at the feel of her hand touching him. She yanked her hand away in fear of his rejecting her. She didn’t want to do anything that would hurt him. “Why are you doing this? Are you..?” Butch trailed off, becoming distracted again when he looked down at her breasts. _I’m dreaming. Yeah, that’s what this is. I must still be dreaming._

“Let me take care of..” Lex whispered quietly, letting out a surprised squeak when Butch’s hand enveloped one of her breasts. The mound was big enough to fill his hand in entirety. “Butch?”

Butch let out a pleased sounding sigh, his other hand enveloping the other breast before he leaned down and kissed in between them. “Oh man… they’re so soft..”

Lex snorted a small laugh at the look of bliss on the others face. This is what she had honestly expected as a reaction.

With Butch distracted, Lex reached down again, hesitating for a split second before wrapping her hand carefully around his arousal. Butch moaned against one of her breasts, his tongue peeking out from between his teeth and licking at her skin. At the encouraging, albeit somewhat dazed look of approval on Butch’s face, Lex began to carefully stroke up and down eliciting more moans of pleasure from her partner.

The hands encasing her breasts let them free, one of the two reaching up towards her face and the other sliding down to her hip. It gripped her tightly, the feeling tickling her skin.

Butch groaned, biting at his bottom lip. “Lexie..” He panted, nuzzling against her in the crook of her neck. The dusting at his jaw tickled her, earning a small laugh. He then began to kiss and suck at her neck, the hand at her hip removing Lex’s hand around his shaft. Before Lex could begin to wonder if she did anything wrong, Butch pivoted his hips, grinding down between Lex’s legs. The two fell over, Lex laying on her back now with Butch leaning over her.

A familiar feeling, similar to the one when they first gave each other hickeys, coursed inside Lex, warming her body with the feeling flooding inside her. Her heart skipped a beat when Butch gently bit down on her neck, grinding against her again.

At the sound of a quiet gasp, Butch pulled away from the patch of skin he had in his mouth, his vision coming back into focus.

Lex was shuddering beneath his body, a bruising purple spot catching his eye.

 _This isn’t a dream._ He realized.

Before Butch could back away in realization, Lex hooked one of her long legs around Butch, causing him to grind against her some more. She squeaked a sound of approval at the movement, moving one of Butch’s free hands back towards her breast.

_This is so much better than a dream._

“This isn’t a dream is it?” he breathed against Lex’s neck, biting and sucking closer to her jaw. His hips ground down again, causing Lex to reflexively grab onto the back of his head, tangling her fingers in his hair. “This.. you’re like me, then, right?”

He ground against her again, moaning against the patch of skin when the tip touched a wetness. The hand Lex had tangled in his hair yanked gently at the contact, Butch noticing she had her eyes clenched shut and her face a deep red. His free hand gently stroked at her cheek, breathing a quiet, “Hey..” to get her attention.

At the sound of his voice, Lex opened her eyes, feeling the blush spread along her cheeks reach to the tips of her ears and the nape of her neck. Butch was making the same face he had in her dream.

Her vision began to swim. It was all becoming too much. A crippling fear gripped at her chest when she looked down, her gaze reaching the thing throbbing in between both of their legs.

She tried to push on. She had to.

Butch noticed Lex’s increased breathing, watching as her gaze trailed downwards, avoiding making eye contact just before. She took in a sharp breath, before both her hands rushed downwards.

At first he thought she was going to shove him off, that was until she yanked at the briefs she was wearing, tossing them to the side. She was now fully naked beneath him.

“Go on then,” she stuttered, gripping tightly to the bed sheets, ignoring making eye contact yet again. “hurry up.”

A sour taste began to rise in the back of Butch’s throat. No. This wasn’t right. He hissed when Lex hooked a leg around his waist and dragged him against her again, noticing in the moment that her legs were shaking.

The wetness he had felt earlier was gone.

“Lex.” he groaned, managing to unlatch a leg from around him. She refused to look at him, instead opting out to bite at her quivering bottom lip.

She pivoted her hips some, both hissing in pain when skin dragged along skin. “Ow.” She groaned, opening her eyes finally.

There were tears in her eyes.

“God– Lex stop–” Butch huffed in frustration, pushing himself off. His hands gripped tight to Lex’s own, holding her in place so she could look at him. “Why are you doing this.”

“I told you!”

“That’s not good enough! Tell me the truth..”

The look in his eyes was of agony, as if he felt truly awful for letting it get this far. Neither could tell if the hand on her leg was trembling because of him, or because her legs were shaking so strongly.

Lex took in a shaky breath, looking him in the eyes. “Because we’re going to have to eventually.”

It felt like a tear was ripping her chest apart when Butch stood up from the bed. He picked up his vault suit from where he tossed it the night before and quickly put it on, grabbing his jacket as he walked out of the apartment.

Shudders wracked Lex’s body at the sound of the door closing behind him. She listened to his footstep quickly disappear down the hallway, the filling silence that followed becoming too much for her.

She messed up. It went nowhere near the way she had planned in her head.

It was supposed to go smoothly, how else would someone go about losing their virginity? The receiver would get naked and the giver would penetrate. It was simple, and yet it had gone horribly wrong!

“Crap..” Lex whimpered, dragging a hand down her face, wiping away the streaks of tears on her cheeks.

She didn’t realize how hard she was crying until her body gave up on her and she collapsed onto the bed. Her breath came out in wheezes, her ribs and chest feeling inflamed. Eyes stung with tears as they wouldn’t stop emerging behind her closed eyelids.

On Lex’s list of fuck ups this was by far the worst; She was naked and crying in bed by screwing up getting screwed by her childhood bully/now-husband. Life was just some sick twisted joke now, even after the apocalypse threw the world into the garbage.

 _Goddammit, goddammit..!_ She scolded herself, urging herself to stop crying.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop.

—

Lex read the page again and again, grinding her teeth together in agitation. At the end of her fourth reread for the third consecutive day, she tossed the book onto her work desk.

The book was useless and stated the complete opposite of what she was hoping to read in it. Instead of helping her understand more of what she was and how to apply it in the situation she was in, it told her to ignore her inner voice and, to put it crudely, ‘just take it’ or get used to complete loneliness.

To think she had seen Beatrice in a different light, as a possible role model in whatever it was that they were. Instead, she just proved she wasn’t any better than she was before.

At least now, she had a word to describe herself with. As well as a definition she could use to explain to Butch.

All in due time, however.

For now, the main goal she set for herself was to admit to him that she had feelings for him. He had been brave enough to admit to her, or at least try to, that he was willing to let her set the pace to how fast their relationship would develop. He respected her boundaries but still tried to get things moving along, even if it made things slightly awkward after, on her behalf.

Especially after the events that unfolded in the morning three days ago, telling him her feelings was the only hope she had of fixing the mess.

He hadn’t come home the night when the event occurred. When she had pushed herself beyond her limits and pushed him away. Now she knew what she had done wrong.

She hadn’t been honest with herself or him. It made him believe she was doing just what they were told to do, and not reciprocating the feelings he had, which she had as well.

In the two days that followed, Lex tried finding him, each time to no avail. No matter how well planned she tried running into him, or getting him in a corner, he would always find a way to avoid detection.

In those two days, she never realized how lonely it was to sleep alone in their bed. Her thoughts as she lay in the big empty bed, were always about Butch. Was he ok? Where was he sleeping? Had any of the Overseer’s lackeys caught on that he hadn’t been home in the past three days?

What she was feeling now, was most likely what Butch felt during their times together. It was infuriating and scary. Heart stopping, and blood pumping.

She had to fix this.

Before the clock reached the next hour, Lex was already out of her work station, marching down the halls, hazel eyes scanning each corridor. Vault residents who happened to be in the halls she walked down moved out of her way with a fearful look in their eyes.

She had checked the diner, the library, and areas where the Tunnel Snakes would usually loiter around, before stopping at the barber shop. The door was closed and locked, she soon found out, having pressed the opening function on the door mechanic multiple consecutive times.

Sighing in defeat, Lex slammed her head in frustration against the cold metal door. It was beginning to feel like Butch had just disappeared from the Vault.

Maybe he had.

Maybe the Overseer caught on and got rid of him. A stabbing pain cut through Lex’s chest at the thought. It would be her fault if it were true. Before when she all but wanted Butch to disappear from her life, she couldn’t imagine a world without him now. She didn’t know how she could possibly go on now without him by her side without loneliness consuming her whole.

Before she could further dwell on the horrible thoughts flooding her mind, the sound of footsteps caught her attention.

It felt like time was slowing down in that moment. It could have been anyone walking by or walking to the shop but her heart raced at the thought that it could possibly be Butch.

She turned her head slightly as the footsteps slowed down next to her, the boot clad feet crossing one over the other as the body it belonged to leaned on the wall of the hall. Her heart hammered at her chest as she looked up.

“Looking for someone?”

Wally snickered at her from his place against the wall, earning a disgusted look of mortification and fear to grow on Lex’s face. Lex removed her head from the door, backing a step away from the Tunnel Snake. “What do you want?” She muttered, wrapping her arms around herself.

Wally took a step forward in Lex’s direction. “Butch isn’t here.” He said, avoiding her question. “In fact, he won’t be anywhere near you ever again.”

The malicious intent in his words sent a chill of fear down Lex’s spine, causing her to back away even more until she hit her back against the wall. Wally stalked towards her until he was about a half foot away from her.

“What are you talking about?” Lex asked, glaring as hard as she could towards the other. It only brought a smile to Wally’s face.

“Right now, you’re lover boy is off chatting it up with Christine.” He began. He reached out and ran a finger down the side of Lex’s face, his other hand placing itself on the other side of her head against the wall. She flinched away from his touch, glaring harder if possible, at him. “My cousin’s making sure to get you out of his mind and have her running through his. She’s been trying so hard the past two days, and y’know what? I think it’s starting to work.”

Lex spat out before she could properly asses the situation she was in. “Fuck you.”

A hand grabbed onto her hair at her words, yanking her head up forcefully. “I’m only telling you the truth, tuts. Poor ol’ Butchie’s been wandering the halls the past few days that he practically fell into Chris’s arms for comfort.”

Anger spiked Lex’s words. She didn’t believe him. Butch loved her, there was no possible way he could forget about her so quickly. “I don’t believe a fucking word you’re saying.” She growled.

“Oh, you should. Why else would I be here?”

Confused, Lex yanked herself away from Wally’s hold. What did he mean? There was no reason for him to be here, other than to harass her like he used to when they were kids. Her thoughts turned back to what he said earlier, about Christine. She didn’t particularly care about either Butch or Lex so why would she suddenly interfere?

The Project.

 _Christine and Wally were the leftovers. If any paired couple did not seem to become closer at a set amount of days, they would be removed and replaced with either of them._ Lex realized that with Butch not returning to their apartment for three days, it was plausible to assume a problem grew between him and Lex, which was reason enough to remove the two from each other. It was all her fault.

Panic set in. Just how much did Wally know? At Lex’s pregnant pause, Wally seemed to have figured out just what thoughts were running through her head. “Butch is very easy to read, and guess what? You’re the same.” he sneered.

Wrinkles along Wally’s cheek caught Lex’s eye. A long silvery stripe ran down the side of his freckled face, stopping just below his jaw. “Like them? Your boy gave em to me.” Wally responded to her staring, his fingers running along the healed skin. Lex ripped her eyes away, turning her face to look away from Wally. It only caused the other to grab at her face and force her to look at him. “You’ll be getting much worse if you don’t do your job, breeder.” He spat.

The scar was from when Butch had chased Wally off of her, the first time he had her alone. This time she didn’t have Butch to help her. Knowing Wally and how far he would take things now, Christine was probably working with him unknowingly, ignorant of her cousin’s true intentions.

“You’re a pig if you think that’s all I’m good for.” Lex hissed, keeping her eye on any movement the other was making. He laughed maliciously at her words, his hand squeezing her face tighter.

“You won’t be saying that when you have no choice but to do as I say.” He growled before clashing his mouth against Lex’s, forcing her mouth open with the hand he had around her jaw.

Wally’s mouth tasted of alcohol and cigarettes, the combination making Lex gag as she struggled to push him off. Her nails scratched at his face, successfully causing him to yank away when her nails dug at the stripe of healed scar. He cursed at the stinging pain, glaring back at Lex. She met his anger filled look with one of her own.

There was no way in hell she would let him or Christine take Butch away from her.

When Wally’s hand raised up in an attempt to hit her, Lex shoved him away in time, successfully throwing him down to the floor before he could lay a hand on her. When he fell to the floor, Lex’s boot-clad foot stepped harshly down in between his legs, earning a small pop as a sign the other was done for. Wally screamed out in pain, the sounds of his wailing echoing behind Lex as she hurriedly walked away.

A sense of uneasiness crept up from where she was touched, making her feel completely disgusting. She needed to shower, to wash her mouth– she needed something to make her feel clean again!

She continued walking down the hall towards the stairwell that lead further down to her apartment until she stopped in her tracks. Right in front of the stairwell were Butch and Christine, the girl leaning very closely to the other as if she had just gotten him to stop in his tracks from wherever he was going. His back was facing Lex, making it difficult for Lex to understand just what was going on. She didn’t care though, just the sight of Butch sent a feeling of relief through her.

Without a second thought, Lex strode over, head held high and confident despite what had just happened before, before stepping next to the two. Christine looked shocked and angry at Lex’s sudden appearance, her mouth gaping open with unspoken words. It snapped closed when Lex’s fingers ran through Butch’s hair, pulling his head down to meet hers.

Butch’s heart skipped a beat when Lex kissed him hungrily, her hands running and tangling themselves in his hair. He barely made out Christine’s sounds of frustration over the small moans coming from Lex. His hands found her hips, feeling her shudder when he brought her closer to his body.

The way Lex was pulling him towards her, as if she wanted to become molded into him sent his heart racing. He had avoided her for three days straight, he believed she wouldn’t want anything to do with him after that. Christine had even told him that Lex was the one avoiding him.

But now..

Now it seemed like any restraint Lex had was gone and she only needed him.

With one last smoldering kiss, Lex pulled away, turning toward Christine with a shit eating smile before walking down the hall with him in hand. Her hand in his guided him down the hall and stairs.

Everything felt like it was happening so fast, any pace the two had before was completely gone. Any distance that had grown over the past three days was being erased due to Lex’s hand not letting go of his. The comfort that was growing just because of their hands holding onto each other was something completely new and incredible, for lack of words.

But Butch was still confused.

He called out her name. “Lex.”

No answer.

He tried again, trying to get a reaction by using a name he swore off since being married to the other. “Nosebleed, hold on–”

They went down another set of stairs and down another hall before they stopped at Lex’s hideout. She opened the storage room door and pulled the other in.

It was once they were inside did she finally turn around to face him. In the dim lighting, Butch could barely make out her face or what expression she currently had. It was dark enough that he could barely make out the silhouette of her body.

Before he was able to ask again, Lex stepped closer and tugged his face down, their faces centimeters away from each other. His hand met hers on his face, feeling the trembles going through her. “Hey..”

She pulled away, her hands going to his chest where they stilled, her trembling residing just a little. He heard her take a deep breath before letting it out slowly.

“I’m ok.” she breathed. Her silhouette moved in the dark until she was leaning against a supply crate or a wall, Butch couldn’t tell. Her hands were wringing together against her stomach. Something was bothering her but she didn’t seem to want to talk about it.

“You’re ok..” He heard her whisper to herself, followed by a sigh of relief.

When he approached her, it seemed she didn’t take notice, or she didn’t seem to mind. Her earlier public display of affection was still fresh on both of their minds, especially Butch’s.

It was one of the first times that Lex had shown anyone in the Vault the type of intimacy Butch wanted from her to be directed towards him. Maybe it was because of Christine that she showed the type of territorial behavior she showed before when protecting Amata. Except it was for him.

It made him.. Happy.

He stood a foot away from her, leaving enough space between them if she wanted to leave. He was taking a risk here.

“Hey..” he whispered.

“Hey..” she whispered back, looking up at him. Butch stepped closer, closing the gap between them.

He dipped his head down cautiously, having to wait only for a few seconds before Lex bumped her forehead against his. The tips of their noses brushed together gently at the contact.

“Is.. This is ok. Right?” Butch was hesitant to ask, memories of her pained expression from a few days ago resurfacing. He heard her take in a breath followed by a soft laugh.

“Right.” her words fluttered against his skin, a calming feeling that relaxed his nerves.

“And the kissing was..?”

Lex made a sound between a huff and a laugh, her hands placing themselves against his abdomen. She felt him twitch under her touch. “I ‘unno. Nice, I guess?” Butch’s breathy laugh reverberated through his body.

“So it’s ok to do it again.”

“For now.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Lex giggled, pressing her lips gently against Butch’s own. She felt him twitch at the action before he melted against her, bringing one of his hands to her face to deepen the kiss. When they broke apart, Butch breathed a contented sigh.

“I love you.. Butch.”

He stared at her in surprise in the dark, the hand he had against the side of her face flinching at the words.

When he didn’t respond, fear began to grow in the pit of Lex’s stomach. Anxiety prickled at her back, wondering maybe if she had been too late. Maybe he had lost interest.

Until he hugged her.

Warm, leather clad arms enveloped her whole, pressing her tightly against his body. She could feel his heart hammering against his chest as well as hers.

“God Lex…” He breathed, his hand holding her by the back of her head. “I’ve missed you, babe.”

They both laughed in the quiet, empty room. In that moment, they were no longer  Butch the bully and Nosebleed, but two consenting adults who happened to, despite their beginnings, develop feelings for each other.

Their lips met multiple times inside that lonely storage room, carefully placed and unrushed kisses allowing them to feel comfort with each other without rushing further into something neither knew if they wanted or not.

After a while of more kissing, satisfied enough for the moment, the two walked to their apartment hand in hand.

Curfew had been in effect for 30 minutes by the time they were inside, completely unaware due to the little world they made for themselves.

The two fell asleep wrapped in each other’s arms, happily waiting to greet the next days to come.

-x-


	10. Curls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These transition chapters into the second part of the married!AU will be pretty short, maybe 4 or 5 chapters tops

“Do you always do this to your hair?” Butch’s annoyed voice came from behind Lex, the fingers he ran through her hair carefully undoing any tangles.

“Comb it?” She replied sarcastically, leaning her head back to look the other in the eye. He gave her a mocking look, biting his bottom lip and scrunching his nose. It made her giggle. “Isn’t that the only thing you’re supposed to do to it? Other than wash and iron it.”

The sound that came out of Butch closely resembled a gasp of horror, causing Lex’s eyes to widen slightly in surprise.

“No wonder your split ends are horrible.” He groaned, looking over the state of her hair more carefully.

It was the next day after they made up in the storage room, Lex waking up that morning with Butch holding her closely against him. It felt so surreal that she felt so comfortable in his arms.

Butch had a half day of work where Lex had none. He had just returned home to find Lex struggling with combing through her hair in the bathroom.

He made a noise of restraint before he reached around her to open the bathroom mirror, his other hand reaching around Lex’s middle and holding her by her stomach. He made a point to scratch Lex’s neck with his five o'clock shadow, earning a small laugh from her.

“Get a chair. You’re getting a treat today.” He told her, gently pushing her out of the bathroom while he grabbed his bag of supplies.

Lex gave him a shy smile before dragging a chair from the kitchen out from under the table.

She patiently waited, watching Butch begin to set up at the kitchen table. A towel was placed over her shoulders in order to catch stray hairs.

Noises came from behind her, Butch grumbling to himself while taking note of the work ahead of him.

All she really needs is treatment and a trim. He concluded, beginning to moisturize her hair with water. Lex flinched at the feeling of water spraying around her, making a surprised sound at the coldness of the liquid touching her skin. “Ah, sorry.”

“I’m drowning here.” Lex pouted, jokingly wiping at the mist at her cheeks. Butch scoffed a laugh, continuing working.

Lex watched as short strands fell over her shoulders, an odd feeling of loss growing in her. It was like throwing out something she’d always had since a child.

I remember always being sad whenever dad would give me a haircut. Lex wanted to say. I wanted my hair to be as long as Suzie’s when we were kids. It never grew as fast as hers or the others.

Butch made a small noise, as if he was deep in thought just like she was. “Remember when we were kids and I stuck gum in your hair? Funny how instead of ruining it, I’m fixing it this time.” He joked, the self deprecating humor tinting his words.

Lex hummed at the memory. It was when her hair was long enough to tie into braids past her shoulders. “I remember.” she laughed. “I was so mad. It was the longest I’d gotten my hair.”

Butch laughed again, his hands rubbing a sweet smelling oil through Lex’s hair and into her scalp. The moan of happiness that escaped Lex brought a small smile to Butch’s face. “I should’a learned after the shiner you gave me not to mess with you like that again.”

“Karma.” Lex winked, leaning her head back to look at him. “Now you’re the Vault’s hairdresser.”

“Barber.” He growled, wiping his hands on her face. He smiled when a sound of surprise was muffled by his hand, quickly moving it out of the way to give her a small kiss. Lex hummed in approval, tracing a hand along the other’s jaw.

They parted at the sound of their door opening, both looking up with flushed faces to see Amata and Paul frozen at the entrance.

“Should we come back another time?” Paul asked, barely holding in the fit of giggles Amata was currently doubling over with.

Butch practically burst into flames before Lex spoke up. “No it’s fine! We’re almost done here anyways.” she said, eyeing Butch from where she sat.

“Y-yeah.” He stuttered, earning a raised eyebrow and a grin from his best friend. He returned it with a glare.

—

“Do you like it?” Lex asked giddily, pressing the palms of her hands gently underneath the curls of her ponytail, carefully making them bounce. She twirled around in a circle, giggling when the soft rivets caressed her cheeks.

She rocked on her feet happily, smiling at her father. James looked at her confused but pleased at his daughter being happy. The way his daughter looked in that moment, brought an old faded memory from deep within James’ memories, of a child, barely age ten, bouncing around with curled pigtails.

James hummed, “You finally did your hair?” teasingly before returning to typing in the clinic’s terminal. Lex puffed her cheeks out in a pout, crossing her arms at her father, earning a small chuckle from the older man.

“Actually, Butch did it for me.” Lex said, matter of factually as she adjusted the bandana around her head. James’ hand froze above the computer’s keyboard, his eyes turning towards his daughter. “Amata did the eyeliner though. I kind of like it.” Lex continued, not noticing the changed look on her father’s face.

“You and Butch have gotten close then.” James asked in a not-so-asking tone, more of a I-already-know-the-answer-and-will-probably-kick-Butch’s-ass-anyway-if-you-try-to-lie tone.

“Not like that, dad.” Lex rolled her eyes, trying to remain calm despite her face turning a shade of red. James grabbed the back of his chair as he made to get up, the grip on the back rest causing the chair to make a strained noise, Lex quickly raising her hands up in front of her to stop him from standing. “I’m telling the truth! A-all.. All we’ve done is kiss. That’s it.”

James continued walking toward the door, Lex suddenly becoming very worried at the lack of emotion on her father’s face. “Dad!”

“I’m just gonna talk to him.” He said, shaking his head with a casual tone.

“Dad please don’t–”

“I’m just gonna talk to him.” He said with a reassuring smile.

“Dad–”

“I’m just gonna talk to him.”

The doors to the clinic opened behind Lex, causing both to turn to look at who was entering.

“Lexie, babe, are we gonna go eat?”

It was Butch.

“ **[Vas a ver cabron](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fwebhp%3Fsourceid%3Dchrome-instant%26ion%3D1%26espv%3D2%26ie%3DUTF-8%23q%3Dvas%2520a%2520ver%2520cabron%2520translation&t=NWRjODI0ODZkMWFiYWNmMWI2NjVhOWRmMjJmYmZjYjcxNDg1MWNkMixza2lKc0V4bQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AMW2M3OnU2PqPoGGPshyrJw&p=http%3A%2F%2Fnukarachacha.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F151219334683%2Fchildren-of-the-vault-intermission-transition-1&m=1)** –”

“Butch!”

“Wha–”

“–who do you think you are calling babe?!”

“Run!!” Lex screamed, pushing back her father. Butch caught sight of the look on the doctor’s face, almost screaming before running away. The blood drained from Butch’s face, forcing himself to run all the way back to his apartment.

He could hear the doctor’s continual cursing switch between English and Spanish even after closing the door behind him.

It was then that Butch learned to not get on the Doctor’s bad side.

On his father-in-law’s bad side.

**“Crap…”**


	11. Horror Show

“Aw c’mon Butch! Not even holding hands?”

Lex trailed behind her husband, pouting all the way towards their destination. The man being questioned shook his head, stuffing his hands into his jacket.

“No way. I ain’t bout to get caught by your pops again.” He grumbled, turning his head towards Lex once she caught up and was now walking beside him. “That old man is terrifying.”

Lex shook her head. Despite her obvious teasing, Butch was taking it very seriously. She soon regretted not taking advantage of his spoiling her before telling her father.

The two continued walking down the hall, spotting Amata and Paul. Before they were close enough to greet each other, a gentle force collided against Lex’s shoulder, pushing her enough to trip over her own feet.

“Oh, jeez, sorry!” Janice whispered an apology, gripping onto the other girl’s arm for support.

Lex held onto the wall for support as well as Janice, to ensure the other was fine. “Janice! Um,” Lex stuttered, looking next to her only to find that Butch had continued walking towards their friends without her. “how– how are you? Are you ok?”

Janice looked at the other with widened eyes, an embarrassed flush beginning to tint her cheeks. She quickly pulled away, wrapping her arms around herself. “I’m fine, thank you.” her head ducked away to avoid looking at her. “Sorry for bumping into you Lex.”

Something was wrong. The Janice she knew before was almost a completely different person than the Janice she was looking at now.

Noticing the silence, Janice looked up, tucking her ruby red hair behind her ear. “Are you heading to the library for movie night?”

Lex nodded. “Yeah, Butch and I were thinking of going since Amata invited us.”

In truth, neither Butch nor Lex really wanted to go. It was only after Amata had nagged Lex into joining her did she cave into her best friend’s request.

She was beginning to regret stepping out from where she was lazing around. Encountering Janice was something she truly did not want to deal with.

Janice’s voice snapped Lex out of her thoughts, reminding her that the girl seemed to have started a conversation on her own. “I thought I would be the only one going!” the redhead laughed, cradling her stomach. “My Stevie’s always at work so I’m always on my own with nothing to do.”

The girl seemed to have returned to the obnoxious girl she was before with the minute long attention she received. It took all the strength Lex had to not roll her eyes at the sound of the other’s laugh. The sound bounced off the walls only to ricochet onto the sides of Lex’s head like a poorly aimed BB.

As if the Lord above took pity on her, a warm arm draped over Lex’s shoulders, gently pulling her away from Janice. “The movie’s about to start. I ain’t missing it because of you.” Butch grumbled, completely ignoring Janice as he dragged Lex inside the library where the movie was already lighting up the dark room. Janice’s footsteps quickly followed close behind them, following them into the library.

Hearing the door close, Amata waved the couple down, showing them their seats.

Throughout the duration of the opening credits, the feel within the library was mellow, few of the attendants actually paying attention to the movie they watched more than once in their lifetime. Idle chatter was vaguely heard in the back from the two security guards assigned to prevent any misconduct from happening.

Lex’s head began to roll back in her seat, not really into the movie her best friend was obsessing over. When her forehead hit Butch’s shoulder, she quietly groaned, earning a small noise of reciprocation. The mutual feeling of boredom between the two could possibly have been the only thing keeping them both sane throughout the duration of the film.  

The small conversations the two were having through bored grunts was quickly silenced by a bystander shushing them from a row behind them. Butch’s arm was placed over Lex’s shoulder, bringing her closer to his chest as they snickered together. Again, they were quieted by the same person from before.

The rest of the movie went by quickly, and quietly. A few yawns here and there from the two young and bored patrons, as well as from a few others. Amata glared at her friend whenever she would yawn too long and dramatically.

“Ugh, you’re horrible. Both of you.” She groaned once the group began to leave. The complaint only earned her shrugs before they stepped out the door.

The group continued to make their way down the Vault’s many corridors, the diner coming into view. As they turned the corner, idly chatting amongst each other, Lex happened to turn her attention towards a noise she wasn’t sure she heard or not.

The noise was like a muffled gasp, followed by a slap or something wet hitting the floor.

Before she knew it, she had separated from the group, curiosity getting the best of her. The feeling of dread quickly crawling up her back was encouraging her in the worst way the closer she got to where the noise was coming from. The voices of her friends quickly faded into nothing, the only sound she could hear now coming from her own pulsing heartbeat and the odd and mysterious noise.

It was only when her eyes came in contact with what was causing the noise did her whole body go numb, frozen and static. She quickly turned and left the small corner, nails dragging down the skin of her face, trying her hardest to erase the image implanted into her brain.

She really did not know what to expect but what she saw was at the bottom of the list of things she ever wanted to see in her life. The door quickly shut behind her when she reached the sanctuary of her apartment, Lex immediately rushing to the bathroom sink and dunking her head under the steaming water she turned on. She whipped her head out from the continuous stream of water, gasping for air when the door to her apartment hissed open, Amata, Paul and Butch stopping immediately at the sight of her.

“What the– Lex what are you doing?” Exasperated, Amata rushed to her friend’s side, only to be pushed to the side by Butch, his large hands wiping and pushing back at Lex’s dripping wet hair covering her face. His blue eyes traced along the scratch marks running down the sides of her face, brow furrowing in worry and anger at the thought of something happening to his girl.

“Who did this to you?” He growled, eyes turning cold. Flustered, Amata shoved in next to the two, her hands examining her friend.

“Lex what happened?” She asked, worry causing her voice to rise and Lex to wince. “One second we were talking, the other you were gone!” Butch pushed the frantic redhead back gently, giving Paul a look to help get Amata off of her.

Once there was a bubble of space for Lex to calm down, drenched hair now untied and resting on one side of her shoulder, she painfully began to explain to her worried group of friends what happened.

In the silence of the apartment bathroom, words filled with disgust informed those gathered what had transpired.

“I saw Stevie.. Doing it with Janice.” Lex heaved, tangling her hand in her hair at the image resurfacing her memory. “Her belly was out and like.. Round, and gross– and it looked so messy!” She took in a shuddering breath. “Why do people do that in public– they weren’t even– they were in public!!”

Paul was the first to begin laughing, followed by Butch and then Amata. Furious and in every way grossed out, Lex threw them all out from the bathroom sanctuary she had claimed, locking the door behind them all. She ignored her friend’s apologies through the door, barely able to understand what they were trying to say over their continuous laughter.

“But in all seriousness, Lex,” Amata gasped, being the first to regain control over her laughter. “Please come out. It’s ok.” She wheezed. “I’m sure anybody who saw that would be grossed out.”

The door to the bathroom opened, three pairs of eyes being wiped of tears from laughing so hard. “That wasn’t even the worst part,” Lex added, joining the people she loved on their seats on the floor. “The shine on Janice’s pregnant belly matched the one on Stevie’s head.”

The apartment erupted into laughter, any memory of the hated security guard being warped and turned into a joke.

-x-


	12. Gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW AS HECKIES also includes death of a character. More notes at the end.

Butch layed sprawled on their couch, chewing idly on a toothpick. His eyes followed Lex while she walked around the apartment, cleaning nonstop since the two came home from work that day. 

 

She had mentioned she would be visiting her father at the clinic but ended up meeting with Butch in the diner. Lex looked to have been deep in thought before Butch began to approach her, in the end Lex insisting on heading back to their apartment. 

 

Seeing Lex so focused on cleaning whatever she could get her hands on in their dirty little apartment made him nervous and creeped out.

 

“So.” Butch coughed, barely grabbing the attention of his lost in thought wife. She looked up from the spot she was cleaning on the table before returning to scrubbing it. Butch sighed as he got up, walked over, and snatched the cloth from out of her hands. Before she could open her mouth to retort, large hands forced her to sit on the edge of the table. A half empty bottle of whiskey was placed in her hands. 

 

Lex stared at the bottle and then at Butch. He made a motion for her to drink, which she hesitantly did.

 

Her face shifted to a wince when the alcohol burned its way down her throat and to her stomach, handing the amber liquid back to Butch.

 

“Feel better?” he asked, taking a small sip for himself before closing it.

 

“No.” Lex coughed, taking the bottle back and downing half of the remaining whiskey. Butch watched in amazement and in admiration as Lex endured the burn.

 

He took back what little there was of the remaining of his whiskey before she was able to continue drinking. “What’s got you all spaced?”

 

Lex scoffed, undoing the bun her hair was in and running her fingers through it, shaking at the curls. “You’re asking me about my feelings Butch?” she asked sarcastically, giving him a small glare with a smile.

 

Maybe alcohol was a bad idea. A small chill ran down his spine. “Nah. Just wondering if I’m gonna be dragged into another one of your plans or somethin’.”

 

Lex noticed the small reaction the other had at her tone, trying her hardest to sober up from the heat still burning in her chest. “Just thinking, I guess.” the small apologetic smile hurt Butch’s heart. He mulled over wandering thoughts before taking another drink from his bottle and wrapping an arm around Lex, pulling her in close as he guided her to their bed. “Butch wha--”

 

“Stop talking.” She barely heard him before he pulled both their bodies down onto the old mattress. The sound of his boots hitting the floor caused her heart rate to escalate before it stopped for a second when he began to pull off her own.

 

Her legs tensed and bent to hide under her body once the footwear was off and thrown to the side, Butch now noticing her panicked expression. Realizing his mistake too little too late, he moved closer to her on the bed. “Shit Lex I didn’t mean--”

 

Dark curls shook along with Lex’s response. “No, it’s not that, I just--” She sighed degradingly. “This is just what I was thinking about earlier.”

 

Confused, Butch waited for her to continue. Lex shifted in her place on the bed, a bit too wary of the other staring. Before she could open her mouth again to try to explain better, Butch tugged her back in his arms before falling down onto the bed, holding her in place above him. He could hear her heartbeat slowly even out to a calm rhythm. “You just gotta relax and stop thinking.” Butch offered a piece of advice, fingers beginning to run through the other’s curls.

 

Lex took in a slow breath. “But I gotta think ‘cuz, this is my first.. I’ve never had to think of this before.” She began to ramble, using Butch’s chest as support for her chin. Her hazel eyes grazed the line of his prominently square jaw. “I mean I never felt anything towards anybody. Well, except Amata, but she was a horrible kisser.”

 

Butch yanked his head off from the pillow so fast, Lex was surprised they didn’t hear his neck snap. “Wait what?” He was not expecting that.

 

“Yeah, kissing her was like kissing a wall. She never opened her mouth or even puckered her lips.” Lex chuckled at the memory.

 

A confused gaze was now staring intensely in her direction, Lex could practically feel the confusion in the air.  “I mean it’s like if variable is not present, then main becomes null--”

 

“Oh my god your nerd talk is so sexy.” Butch groaned, lacing his fingers through his wife’s hair tighter and gently pulling her closer to him, silencing her quiet rambling with a searing kiss. 

 

Half a minute into the kissing before Lex pulled away with a breathy gasp. “Wait are you serious--”

 

“No I’m just trying to get you to shut up.” Butch quickly cut her off, earning a giggle from her before pulling her back into another kiss.

 

Lex was rolled onto her side, arm wrapping itself behind Butch’s neck in response to the other molding their bodies together. It felt to her as if he wanted them to become one solitary being, consisting of nothing but an unbridled, hot makeout session. Passion was high, neither noticed the cold air begin pulsing into their home.

 

Butch only pulled back, giving one last soft kiss to even softer lips before he began to bite his bottom lip in thought.

 

“So would you ever.. I dunno.. get close like that with me?”

 

“Do it with you?” Lex deadpanned, a teasing brow rising once met with a frustrated look. “I don’t see why I wouldn’t.”

 

At that, Butch’s eyebrow rose in mild surprise. “Really? Well, I guess you did try to before.” he quickly added remembering the shared traumatic experience from not that many months ago.

 

An embarrassed blush bloomed across Lex’s cheeks at the memory before she covered her face at the exact moment she began to laugh. “God.. don’t remind me.” she groaned, burying her face in the others chest. It earned a hearty laugh, the sound reverberating next to Lex’s ear. “All that was missing from that time was a soundtrack to match the passionate love making that would ensue.”

 

“Miss Valentino.. does this mean you have a playlist for your first time in the sack?” Butch teased, eyes wide and brows raised, staring down his wife in challenge. A smug look replaced the embarrassed one from before, Lex slowly pushing herself off the bed all while maintaining eye contact.

 

“As a matter of fact, I do, you rotten asshole.” 

 

Butch could barely hold in his childish excitement, watching as his wife carefully forced a holotape into the small radio’s port, patiently waiting to hear what delicate songs she had chosen.

 

It was when the first soft keys floated into the bedroom that the gang leader began to soften, a small smile tugging at his lips. Lex was still facing away from him and towards the radio, earning him a few moments for him to settle back onto the bed, head propped up with his arms folded behind his neck. 

 

When the chorus picked up, Lex turned back towards her awaiting husband, having to hold back a laugh at the way he looked. “This would have been the part where you seduced me.” he winked, earning a nod from the other. Lex pressed a button, shutting the door to their bedroom so no peeping eyes passing by would be able to tell what they were doing.

 

At the reassuring gaze he was giving her, Lex slowly began to unzip the front of her dirty and completely not in anyway sexy Vault suit, struggling to hold the others gaze. When the jumpsuit held its place around her hips, she gracefully pulled off her thin undershirt, making sure to give the other a show while unlatching her bra, letting the cloth slip down her arms. Heat grew behind steel blue eyes, taking in the expanse of skin now to his line of view for the second time in his life. A small hand traced its way down the side of her neck, over the mound of breast, stopping for a few seconds to tease the budding nipple only to continue down and over her belly button.

 

Butch visibly swallowed, feeling a nervous lump form in his throat once both of Lex’s hands began to slip inside her suit. “Butch..” she breathed teasingly, letting the blue coveralls slide down an inch of her body. 

 

In what seemed like an instant, arms tugged Lex over the bed, now straddling her partner’s waist. She kissed a laugh into the expecting mouth, tongue dipping in hungrily to swallow the others groans. Large hands kneaded gently at a full ass, moving it against a growing bulge.

 

It was so hot, warmer than she noticed before. The other instances where she had been pressed against it were nowhere near similar to now. The next time she kissed him, her small hands pulled down the zipper of his jumpsuit, Butch pushing forward to slip his upper body out. Lex wasn’t exactly sure how, but Butch had continued groping her ass while she undressed him, never noticing when he broke contact to slip his arms out of the sleeves.

 

The white undershirt was next to be peeled off, his large expanse of chest now out for full view. Lex traced her hands down the soft ridges, placing a kiss on the conjunction of Butch’s neck and collarbone when the tips of her fingers traced over soft edges above his narrow hips. He had gotten softer than he was before, the memory of a stowed away stash of nothing but junk food coming to mind.

 

Butch’s hands on Lex’s behind stopped, Lex noticing a hesitant look on the other’s face due to her touching. She gave him a quiet smile, humming along to the next song that began to play before placing another soft kiss to her husband’s lips. 

 

_ I love you.. _ She whispered, rubbing against the other. Their bodies moved together on top of their bed, melding together as best they could. No matter the differences in them now compared to when they began, they were now both comfortable with each other, their relation could only grow.

 

\---

 

A scream echoed in the deeper part of the Vault, the sound too far away for anyone to hear. Jonas’ footsteps thundered in the hall as he rushed his way toward the clinic. He closed the door behind him, continuing into the next room. “I couldn’t find her Doc, I’m sorry. Guess it’ll be just you and me.” He panted, trying to catch his breath.

 

James’ barely looked up from what he was doing, struggling to keep the breathing mask on Janice’s sweat covered face. 

 

Another scream erupted from her tired throat, another wave of contractions rippling through her stomach. “Janice, I know it hurts but you must concentrate on your breathing until the pain medicine begins to work. It won’t be long now until you’re able to hold your babies.” 

 

“I want Stevie--” Janice babbled, gasping as the contraction gave one last stab before pulsing away. “Where’s Stevie?!”

 

Jonas and James shared a look of worry. “Stevie’s on his way Janice.” Jonas lied through his teeth, returning to monitor the process of her labor. 

 

The difference between her dilation and current time between contractions  was too great, the contractions and screams they brought along were getting too close to be safe. They would have to operate soon.

 

\---

 

“Butch we shouldn’t.” Lex moaned, feeling the fingers inside her begin to move again. Her back arched off of the bed, her hands tangling in dark curls between her legs.

 

“Why? We’re not drunk.” Butch kissed at her navel, slowly going lower while glancing up at her. The body below him squirmed at the feeling of his tongue tickling her skin.

 

“I’m not, but you?” Slim fingers tangled tighter in dark hair, gently but firmly tugging the others head up to look at fully. “Hmm.. debatable.” Lex watched in amazement as his face began to bloom a deep red, face shifting ever so slightly with pleasure. Realization began to dawn on her when she scratched gently at his scalp, and then ran her nails down the side of his face and towards his neck.  _ Oh?  _

 

“Lex please..” Butch breathed, biting gently down at her inner thigh. The gentle pain was followed by the feeling of wetness accumulating within her, the heat from Butch’s breath against her most sensitive skin caused her to shudder. The hands she had in his hair pushed him back in between her thighs, giving him quiet permission.

 

Lick.

 

On her command, he took a long lick, tasting her for the first time while his fingers delved deeper in her, coaxing her open. She tasted sweet with a soft hint of tanginess. He couldn’t get enough of her, soon beginning to lap hungrily between her folds, encouraged by the growing wetness and the sweet noises she was making above him. Her purrs only constituted  with her petting, cooing every few moments when Butch’s tongue flicked her clitoris. It was evident that Butch didn’t really know what he was doing, or what he needed to do for her to achieve orgasm, but rather he just wanted to keep tasting her.

 

It would have become frustrating due to the constant denial of peaking, if it weren’t for the fingers currently spearing in and out of her opening, constantly brushing against the bundle of her g-spot. 

 

It still was not enough, Lex admitted, trying to control her breathing and remain calm. 

 

She admitted she wanted more.

 

Hazel eyes cast down to where Butch was currently buried in between her legs, her eyes gazing toward the pulsing bulge entrapped in the pants of his jumpsuit. The blue material was stained at the tip of where Lex guessed the head of his shaft pushed against, any movement the other made causing the dark spot to deepen. As carefully as she could without disturbing the other from his constant licking, Lex pressed the heel of her bare foot against the bulge, feeling it twitch sharply followed by a growing wetness.

 

Butch made a hissing noise, sucking Lex’s clit into his mouth unintentionally. He moaned against the small bud when Lex pushed against him again, pulling him by his hair up and towards her. Their mouths clashed together in a hungry kiss, teeth clacking while Lex fumbled in pushing the other’s bottoms down, grabbing a hand full of his plump ass in the process. 

 

Once his white briefs were to his knees, Butch fumbled in aligning himself against the opening he prepared moments ago, rubbing his reddened shaft head against Lex’s button multiple times in search of a good position to enter. The warm slickness was almost too much for him until..

 

Lex let out the sweetest noise once he slid in. 

 

It was a sound between a gasp and a whimper, her plump bottom lip tucked away under her teeth. She was trembling against him, her body blushing a deep rose color. Her striking gold eyes were warm with arousal, eyes practically begging Butch to kiss her. 

 

God she was so full, so different from his fingers. He was so close, closer than anyone else was before. She felt like she was going to suffocate in Butch’s presence, she wanted to suffocate in him. She wanted him, needed him, now more than ever before.

 

Butch watched enraptured at the expressions taking over Lex at just feeling him within her. She looked confused, surprised and amazed at the penetration and feeling of him twitching, swelling in her. 

 

He barely had enough control to wait for her to get used to the feeling. He felt like he had seconds before he would finish before her. He couldn’t, he didn’t want to leave her like that. This was both their first time, he wanted both of them to remember it.

 

“Lexie..” Butch groaned, pulling out slowly, as far as he could with Lex’s legs wrapped around him. Lex made a noise to let the other know she heard him, currently reveling in the feeling of his cock moving in her. One of her legs hooked around Butch’s waist gently urged him back in her, causing both to moan quietly. “Lexie.. God.. please, babe..”

 

Lex purred at his needy voice, her small hands tracing up and down his soft pudge, her leg still helping the other slide back in. Butch groaned again, letting out a contented sigh when he was buried to the hilt inside her, her warm walls fluttering and holding him inside as well as they could. “Please what, Butch?” Her voice teased him with soft whispery words that caressed his skin. All he could do was shudder before beginning to move his hips on his own, still silently feeling the leg she had around him before moving him.

 

“Just like that Butch..” Lex moaned, her hands gripping onto the bed sheets above her head as Butch quickened the pace. He was trying to control his breathing, burying his nose in the crook of her neck and shoulder, placing sloppy, wet tongue kisses along her skin.

 

He was beginning to become unraveled too quickly.

 

\---

 

An eerie quiet filled the halls of the Vault, any noise from before now long gone with the late night. James let out a breath of defeat, turning off the last machine. The fallen lifeline shut off with a beep.

 

Small coos came from the other room, where Stevie held onto the only surviving twin, his eyes looking over at the motionless bundled figure on the medical table. Without saying a word or looking back, he took the child out of the room, closing the door behind him.

 

Jonas carefully took off the breathing mask from around Janice’s face, folding her arms crossed over her chest after placing the apparatus to the side. 

 

“Time of death: December 26th, at 11:46 p.m.”

 

The older doctor shuddered at the word, memories buried from long ago resurfacing. Dark brown eyes stared down at trembling, blood stained hands.

 

It was just like long ago.

 

\---

 

Butch held onto Lex by her hips, urging her movement to quicken.

 

She pivoted her hips back and forth, riding his lap slowly and sensually, taking her sweet time. She relished in seeing her husband’s face flush darker with arousal at any denial of climaxing and dragging on the feeling of a spike in pleasure. Her eyes slyly turned to the clock on the wall, counting the minutes. Seconds.

 

“You want to cum for me Butch?” Lex breathed, tracing her finger along the other’s jaw. She lifted herself up carefully before falling back down, impaling the shaft deep within her again. Butch hissed at the pleasure, tangling a hand in his hair as he nodded almost desperately. 

 

“Yes, god, Lex babe please! I can’t--” Lex moved again, this time stroking his shaft with her hand while just the tip was inside her. “Lexie please..!”

 

Lex licked her lips, beginning to ride the other quickly, bouncing up and down on his lap just as the clock struck twelve. Butch practically howled in pleasure, hands grabbing onto the meaty flesh of her ass as he tried desperately to move her faster. His mouth latched itself to her neck, biting and sucking another deep mark to match the countless others he placed there.  _ I’m so close so close so close..! _

 

A loud moan erupted from within Lex, her head pulling back as ecstasy ravaged her body, the inside of her canal squeezing the life out of Butch’s cock. Seconds after Lex’s first bout of rambling pleasure filled noise and Butch pushed deeper inside her, feeling the orgasm shoot through him and paint Lex’s insides with white. The heat shooting inside her only caused her orgasm to peak, feeling the warmth flood her entire body.

 

Her body was wracked with shudders, ultimately causing her to collapse ontop of the other, both trying as best they could to control their heavy breathing.

 

“Happy birthday Butch..” Lex whispered, lifting her hips as she placed a deep kiss to the birthday boy’s mouth. The half flaccid shaft slipped out from within her, a few drops of spunk spilling out from between her folds. Lex shuddered at the feeling of Butch twitching underneath her, at her words or in being released, she wasn’t too sure. More kisses were peppered all over Butch’s hypersensitive body, the Tunnel Snake having no energy to do more than just hug her.

 

“Best.. present.. Ever..” He panted with a dopey smile on his face. Lex giggled, giving him one last soft kiss on the lips before pulling the bed covers over them, both slowly drifting off to sleep.

 

They would both need the energy to continue celebrating the birthday in the morning.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes Butch gained some pudge in the year they were married. All he eats is junk food and alcohol. So he's chubby :3c love me some big bois <3 I also killed off Janice bc well.. she dies in the game lmao


	13. Getting Ahead of Themselves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up shorter than usual, word doc crashed while I was writing it ._. wrote down most of what I remembered, so sorry if it reads kinda weird OTL the chapter after this one is going to be the FINAL FINAL one lol I’m excited to start posting the next part of my series since it’s my favorite one (and what I started off with before I made cotv) Also, I do have a tumblr, (nukarachacha ) where i talk some about my lil lexie and also other stuff concerning my fic if you'd like you can chat me up there :P

_ “Get out of my face DeLoria.” She would say. _

 

_ “Make me, twerp.” He would reply. _

 

_ It would take Vault Security to stop them from fighting. If they weren’t stopped, the fighting would only end when one or both would pass out from exhaustion, or in rarer cases, a concussion.  _

 

_ It was only once that they woke up next to each other, Butch waking up first with dried up crusty blood around his nose. Seeing Lex’s unconscious body in the clinic bed next to him made him think he had killed her.  _

 

_ Until she woke up seconds after. _

 

_ “What are you looking at, DeLoria?” She asked. _

 

Lex’s lids fluttered while she dreamt, sleeping peacefully in Butch’s arms. It felt so odd, so surreal that they used to be murderous towards each other, yet now Butch didn’t want to be anywhere else except by her side.

 

The thought of not deserving her would always be on his mind. It wasn’t right to be able to see her naked after having laid his hands on her before. 

 

The feeling of a small finger on the middle of his forehead made him snap out of his thoughts.

 

“Thinking about before?” Lex asked, her bright hazel gaze staring him down.

 

A small smile tugged at his lips. He shouldn’t be surprised she could tell. “I had a dream about when I first woke up next to you.” Butch spoke, nuzzling into the crook of his wife’s neck. She smelled like his after shave from the day before. “It was after a fight.”

 

Lex made a thinking noise, tugging the covers over her shoulders when the cold recycled air grew too much for her. “I don’t remember that.” she finally said after almost a minute of silence. 

 

An uneasy feeling grew in Butch’s chest, a twitch starting on his brow. Lex seemed to notice his discomfort, placing a warm hand on the side of his face. “It’s better if you don’t remember either. It’s in the past now, and we’re both grown up and different.” her comforting touch made Butch draw closer, wanting more. “Half a decade is a lot of growing.”

 

“I love you.” he sighed, pressing a soft kiss to her plump lips. The hold he had around her brought her closer until they were pressed flush against each other, body heat doubling in warmth. Lex sighed into the contact, hooking a leg over the other’s hips. A familiar throb against her belly brought a smile to her lips, giving Butch a gentle stroke to rile him up further.

 

“Mm.. yknow i was thinking of going to take a shower.”

 

“Ill join you.” Butch replied almost instantly, yanking the bed covers off both of them before picking up his wife and walking them both, butt naked, into the bathroom. Lex’s laugh resonated in their home until both were inside the shower.

 

The cold water that rumbled out of the creaky shower head did nothing to stop their rising passion.

 

Butch groaned, pushing his drenched curls out of his face as he looked down at his wife, mouth currently busy working his cock to full mass. The warming water currently steaming up the bathroom burned at his back and neck, Butch not caring, only wanting to watch how Lex was able to make him putty in her hands. Her glazed brown skin entranced him with every move she made.

 

At a harsh suck, Butch thrust forward involuntarily, holding onto the back of Lex’s head for dear life. “Mmf!” she squeaked, pulling back from his shaft with a wet pop. She coughed from the onslaught of water raining down on her, doing her best to get up quickly, her wet hair obstructing her vision. 

 

The only warning Lex got while she was temporarily blinded was a soft, happy chuckle from Butch before he pressed his lips against hers, kissing her deeply while his hands groped at her behind. When a searching finger found the hole he was looking for, Lex let out a hiss at the sudden intrusion.

 

“It’s sore be more gentle..” she whined, moving the hand he was using to finger her to her front instead. She gently guided his fingers in, while simultaneously stroking up and down his shaft.

 

They continued this, both riled up enough that every next stroke of their hands brought them almost over the edge. Lex was the one to urge their continuation to the next stage. “Butch-- inside--” she barely managed to make out before she was lifted against the wall, strong arms to each side of her holding her in place, before Butch slid his shaft inside her.

 

Butch, now so close to cumming he could see stars behind his eyelids, began to thrust in rapidly, causing Lex to reach her peak in seconds. One of her hands scratched up his back, causing him to hiss at the sting and bite her neck in retaliation before the pleasurable stinging pushed him over the edge, spilling his essence deep inside her.

 

Exhausted, the two slid down to the shower floor, Butch not having pulled out before they began to do what they ultimately came to the bathroom to do: wash up from the night before. With the now cold water coming out less and less, they both washed the other down, making sure to get enough suds off the other before the water ran out all together.

 

“Ugh.. I’m f-f-f-freezing!” complained Lex once she stepped out from the shower, yanking a clean towel over her shoulders. Butch watched in amusement as his wife quickly made her way to get dressed in their bedroom, hearing drawers open and close while he dried his hair.

 

With the towel now wrapped around his waist, Butch followed the trail of water drops leading to their bedroom stopping only to open the door. 

 

Lex was busy trying to wrap her hair in the towel, the focused look on her face giving away her struggle. Butch eyed the leather she had draped over her shoulders, snaking his hands around her midriff under the jacket. “What are you trying to do here?” He whispered, hand traveling up her stomach. 

 

“I was cold.” Lex replied, dropping the towel onto the bed in defeat. Her long, semi wet curls fell over her bare shoulders, Butch taking his jacket off of her to reveal her still naked body underneath.

 

“Yeah?” Butch’s fingers pinched at a nipple, his other hand squeezing a thigh. “You sure you’re not just,” he kissed her neck. “handing me another wrapped present are you?”

 

_ If that’s what you think. _ Lex whispered, breath hitching once she was penetrated again, this time from behind. The towel that was once around the Tunnel Snake’s waist fell to the floor around his feet, Butch taking that moment to carefully bend Lex over onto the bed. He felt himself slide in deeper than he went in before, feeling the silken walls gripping around his member flutter at the feeling.

 

When Butch opened his eyes, having closed them from the pleasure, he felt his heart skip a beat at what he saw.

 

Lex’s hand had snaked it’s way down her stomach, now gently pushing against a tight stomach in wonder at the feeling inside her. “So full..” she gasped.

 

_ Dammit Lexie!!  _ Butch inwardly cursed, gripping tightly to soft wide hips before beginning to thrust in and out rapidly. She was so warm, so wet, he felt as if his dick would snap off inside her if he stopped moving. Sex felt so good with her,he couldn’t picture himself with anyone else after this, he didn’t want to see each other with anyone else.

 

“Oh, Butch, there!” Lex cried out in ecstasy, pushing down on her stomach just a little bit harder. She swore she could feel him moving inside.

 

Water from his still drying hair rolled down Butch’s forehead, ultimately dripping from his chin as he continued pounding the spot that Lex seemed to like. “Yeah, you like that, Lexie?” Butch panted, his grip on her hips tightening just slightly. “Feel good?”

 

“Feels so good baby, ohh--” Lex began to slur, feeling her eyes begin to roll into the back of her skull at her growing pleasure. “Cum inside me baby, oh please--”

 

All it took was the ramblings to push him over the edge once more, biting his lip with a hiss as he came inside her again.

 

When Butch pulled out, one thing crossed his mind. They were lucky they had towels.

 

White essence dripped onto the floor, Butch catching most of it with his discarded towel from before. More fell onto the damp cloth once Lex came to her senses and began to get up.

 

Trails of spunk dripped down between Lex’s thighs. There was so much inside of her, it made her feel a little bloated. Any discomfort had to be pushed aside, she was doing this for his birthday after all.

  
“Uh, Lex?” Butch’s voice wavered behind her. “You’re bleeding.”


	14. Bumped

* * *

 

A week had gone by since the incident with blood, Butch refusing to get intimate in that way again. He would usually duck out of their bedroom before she was able to wake up next to him on most days, either heading to work early to laze about or to find what mischief he could cause with Paulie. 

 

The two seemed to have gotten close again since then, something that once wouldn’t bother Lex before at all, now giving her the slightest annoyance. Only because Amata would complain to her.

 

“Butch dragged Paul out again last night.” She pouted, taking a long sip from her NukaCola from her seat in the diner booth. “They left together this morning too.”

 

Lex made a noise she was listening, fiddling with a program she was working on on her Pipboy on the other side of the booth. She had just finished working, having helped Stanley out all day with fixing a few loose pipes in the lower level. She didn’t have any time to clean up once the job was done before Amata dragged her off to vent, the dirty recycled work jacket she wore for hazardous jobs still zipped tightly over her torso. At least it was clean enough to not look like she was crawling through vents, and to avoid any complaints from the other more snobby Vault dwellers.

Amata continued listing the times in the past week their husbands had disappeared together, each time Lex making a noise as a response.

 

“Lex. Did you hear me?” Amata shook her friend’s arm trying to get her attention when she didn’t respond. The other looked up slightly, raising her eyebrows in response. “Lex, please.”

 

The Pipboy was tugged down, away from the girl’s view. Dark brown eyes stared into hazel. “Sorry Amata.. What’d you say?” 

 

“Are you ok? Nothing happened between you two to cause.. This?” Amata asked, brushing her finger across her friend’s cheek, tucking loose hair behind her ear.

 

Lex mulled over in her head if she was really bothered by Butch avoiding getting intimate again. It wasn’t like he was really ignoring her or avoiding her. He would still kiss her and talk to her. It wasn’t like she expected him to be glued to her hip after they passed the final stage of their intimate relationship. He was still his own man, with his own friends, and his own gang. The Tunnel Snakes were still alive and well, even if it was now down to two members.

 

“Nothing bad happened.” Lex concluded with a nod, giving her friend a smile. “You were saying something before that question, though, what was it?”

 

At her friend’s smile, Amata sighed. “You heard about Janice, right?” the red head began carefully, testing the waters. Lex nodded, her face flashing an emotion other than calm for a split second before returning to the composed expression she had before.  _ She knew then, _ Amata thought, nodding to herself in return. There was no reason to press that conversation further.

 

“There’s something else you need to know.” Amata began again, the hand she had placed on the diner table reaching out to her friend’s.

 

Lex stared, watching her best friend’s mouth move with each word. 

 

It felt like time was slowing down, anxiety crawling up the muscles on Lex’s back.

 

Within the next second, a bell rang just outside the diner in the distant halls of the Vault.

 

At her seat on the dining booth, Lex watched as school was let out. The few children in the vault began to fill the hall just outside, their small voices barely loud enough to be heard in the diner. There were so few of them, it started to make sense why the Overseer was so pushy with the Project. The amount of people in the Vault could be counted on her hands three times over, which was very much under the desired limit. 

 

Despite all that, it still frightened Lex that she was one of the few responsible in helping the Vault maintain proper capacity.

 

She would be the last one in the Vault now.

 

She felt numb, realizing the impending outcome of the project was coming full rear now.

 

The door to the diner opened, the two men who Amata was complaining about waltzing in. As if it was completely normal, Paul was dragging a disheveled Freddie behind them, Freddie not seeming to be complaining at all. Freddie was then forcefully placed on a seat pulled up to the girl’s booth while Butch grabbed the group a few things to eat. Amata and Lex shared a confused look before turning to Freddie. He continued to stare down at the table while Paul loomed over him like a hawk.

 

Butch slid in next to Lex in the booth, placing an arm over her shoulder. She snuggled in closer to his chest, tucking her head under his jaw while turning her attention to continue looking out the large windows at the kids outside. The two ignored the elephant in the room as they got comfortable together in the booth.

 

Amata shifted in her seat uncomfortably, glancing between Butch and Lex, to Paul and Freddie, waiting for some sort of explanation.

 

“What’re you looking at?” Butch asked, taking a bite out of his sandwich. Lex wrapped the old jacket she was wearing tighter around her, rubbing her forehead against the bottom of Butch’s jaw. Amata shot her friend an incredulous look, still seeming to not be used to the public displays of affection between the two. She may have been rooting for them before, but seeing it with her very own two eyes was a different thing.

 

“What’s going on?” Amata spluttered, turning to Freddie who began to take a sip from her NukaCola. 

 

It was Paul who spoke up this time, taking away the soda bottle from Freddie and taking a sip himself. “Freddie here is joining the Tunnel Snakes.”

 

“Yup!” Freddie added cheerfully, for the first time making a noise since being dragged in.

 

“So we’re celebrating.” Butch joined in, popping open his own bottle of NukaCola.

 

Lex shifted in her seat, moving away slightly from her rambunctious husband. Anxiety caused her fingers to begin to twitch, words beginning to bubble up behind her lips before she could stop it.

 

“Guess it’s a double celebration then.” She quickly added, glancing at her friend. “Amata?”

 

The boy’s happy expressions turned confused, all eyes turning to a shrinking Amata who glared at her best friend from across the table. A small playful smile tugged at Lex’s lips, the teasing look infecting her friend, Amata sighing in defeat.

 

“Paulie..” Amata turned to her husband who was finishing off the last drops of NukaCola from the shared bottle.

 

“I’m pregnant.”

 

At her words, Paul choked on the straw currently in his mouth, eyes bursting wide in shock at the news. Amata began to laugh when Freddie was shoved out of the way for Paul to wrap his arms around his wife. Freddie landed on the floor with a loud thud, the clattering of the chair drawing the attention of everyone else in the diner before Freddie popped back up and started rambling congratulations to the two.

 

Lex watched with a small smile on her face at the three across from her, anxiety still agitating her nerves. 

 

She was really the last one now. The Overseer’s eyes would still be watching her every move until the inevitable happened. It didn’t matter that she and Butch were now in love, if she didn’t get pregnant, she may still be put with someone else. It was only a matter of time.

 

The sound of someone clicking their tongue brought Lex out from her thoughts, turning her head in time to see Suzy walk out of the diner. A glance down from the girl’s muttering face, Lex could see the smallest of stomach bulging out with pregnancy. If her memory was correct, her pregnancy should have been further than a few months. Unless..

 

“Lex.” Butch’s voice drew her attention away from the departing form of Suzy, now noticing that the others were following suit as well.

 

“Are you going to stay out with Freddie and Paul again?” Lex hesitantly ask, voice heavy with anxiety. Butch furrowed his brows in confusion, a brow arching in question at her tone.

 

“Was planning on it.”

 

At the answer Lex nodded, picking herself up from the booth and walking side by side with Butch out of the diner.

 

She wondered if she sounded like she was complaining. For some reason the thought that that might be true bothered her. Not like she cared if it began to bother Butch or her friends, she was just too into her head at the moment. 

 

“Are you just going to lay there all day?” Butch asked, the sound of his bubbly laughter trying to break through his words.

 

Lex looked up from where she was apparently lying, realizing she had made it to their apartment without realizing it and falling face first onto their bed. Embarrassed, she made a noise into the mattress, pulling a pillow over her head.

 

The bed sunk down with added weight next to Lex, a hand delving itself underneath her body to pull her out of her hiding spot. The pillow that she was using to hide under fell off the bed, landing on the metal floor with a small thud.

 

“You feelin alright, doll?” Butch asked, bringing her in closer to his body. Lex moved herself the last few inches towards his chest, resting herself there. She shrugged, eyes casting downwards.   
  
A tug at his chest at the way his wife looked made Butch want to do something, anything, to get her to feel different. Lex was never one to become struck with sadness or lethargy, she was one of the few people in the Vault that would always be like a ray of sunshine. If Butch knew what sunshine felt like, it would be similar to the presence she would give off whenever she would smile or laugh, hell, even when she was passionate in winning a fist fight against him she would give off that warm feeling.    
  
Guilt scratched at his chest. Maybe it was his absence that was causing her to feel depressed. If it was she sure hadn't said or done anything to change that like she always would when a situation opposed her.   
  
An idea popped into his head once his eyes caught sight of a small book above the dresser. "Wait here." He said, carefully shrugging off Lex's body as he made his way to the living room. Just as quick as he left, he quickly returned with a book in hand.    
  
"What's that?" Lex asked, getting herself comfortable once again on top of Butch. He flipped the old prewar book in his hands, the word Poetry written in big letters on the front cover. "Poetry? Didn't figure you for the soft hearted type, Butch." She teased half heartedly, the usual level of annoying nowhere to be heard in her words.   
  
"Yeah yeah," Butch pinched her side in retaliation. "Just shutup and listen, I'm only doing this for you once."   
  
A quiet hum followed by silence was her answer. Suddenly Butch felt nervous, combined with a touch of embarrassment. He never showed anyone his fondness for the arts, at least not other for his tagging and needlework. Poetry was nice, something short with deeper meaning he could read quickly. Plus most didn't use big words he didn't know the meaning of.   
  
With a clear of his throat, Butch's voice began to read off the stanzas of the poems, each word coming off soft and fragile, like music to Lex's ears. She never heard Butch talk like that before, much less read aloud. The words resonated like a soft rumble with her ear pressed against his chest, feeling just as much as she was hearing him read the words off the paper of the small book.    
  
It was only when she looked up toward the small book in his hands did she realize some of the poems he was reading were in a language she had never seen before. The letters of each word looked to flow just as beautiful as they sounded, Lex wondering if he was fluent in the language or if he was skipping the lines that weren't in English. With a sigh, Lex closed her eyes once more and listened to the words of poetry.   
  
Butch continued reading, peeking every so often to his side at his wife's reaction. Everytime he looked over he expected to see her holding in her laughter or just staring at him with a bothered look on her face. Each time he was met with the face of someone who was listening to every word that fell from his lips, seeming to breath only at each pause in the poem in order to not miss a word. It took all he had to continue reading perfectly for her, in order not to break the magic he seemed to have spun on her.   
  
At the last and final pause from the poem, Lex was the one to speak up first, breaking any awkwardness in the air caused by his nerves. "I didn't know you could read like that." She hummed, a small smile on her face. "It was nice."   
  
A blush threatened to break across his cheeks, Butch taking that moment to look over the book before handing it to her for her to investigate it. "I would read it to my mom when i was a kid, when she would be sick from drinking. Said it would cure her faster." He saw Lex shift to look up at him from the corner of his eye. "Probably just said that so I could learn how to read and not be slow in the head. It was one of her favorites either way so I didn't mind. She said it's one of the last things of our culture to survive, even before the bombs fell."   
  
"Do you really think that?"    
  
Her words caught him off guard with how quickly she asked. He never really thought about that, never really caring what his culture was since his mother was always passed out drunk and never once talked about it. He never knew his father either, or if he shared his mother's culture or not.   
  
"It doesn't matter to me. If there are more things like this out there or not, I'm still me and I got this." The pages flipped quickly with the help of his thumb. "That's good enough, don't'cha think?"   
  
Lex rose from her place on his chest, both hands holding her up on either side of Butch's sides. "You never wonder if there's more?" She asked, eyes turning serious. Hazel bore into blue, as if they were having a stand off. "If you could be someone completely different? Don't you want to find out more?"   
  
Butch rose up next, leaning on his elbows and the pillow at his back for support. Lex took a pause, seeming to think her words over while she nibbled at her bottom lip. "Why don't you want to have sex with me any more?"   
  
"That's what you've been worrying about?" Butch responded incredulously, brows furrowing in annoyance. "What's with the 20 questions? You doubting me or something?"   
  
At his harsh words, Lex backed a few inches, focusing hard in choosing the right words. It was now or never to come clean.    
  
"I don't know how sexual relationships work." She started, accepting the raise of an eyebrow in confusion. She was just as confused. "I don't know how often someone is supposed to think of sex, because I never do. I don't understand why people want to have sex, why you even want to have sex with me. I mean, I get sex is how you make babies, y'know I get that much, and I know it can feel good, but--" A deep breath to collect her ramblings. "Have you been hanging out with Paulie because you don't like having sex with me?"

 

Butch’s response was to sigh, two of his fingers pinching at the bridge of his nose. He was thinking deeply, wondering why exactly she was so strung up the way she was if having sex wasn’t something that bothered her if she did it or not.

 

“Look,” he began, grabbing hold of one of her arms to direct her attention to him. Her eyes were twitching, the way they would when she was overthinking a solution to a problem. “That time, I thought I hurt you, so I gave you time to yourself to make sure you were alright. If you didn’t bleed because of me hurting you, then you were on the rag and I didn’t want to fuck you during that time.”

 

_ Oh. That makes sense. _ Lex thought to herself with a nod to the new information. She quickly added that variable block to the algorithm which was her train of thought. “Well I’m not hurt, nor am I on my period yet.” 

 

A bark of a laugh pulled itself from Butch’s throat at her words, the sound coming off like a half snort, half chuckle. He raised a brow in her direction, making sure to smother his next words with a flirtatious tone. “You wanna fuck me that bad babe?” He asked, hand tracing up the side of Lex’s face. His thumb pressed tenderly against the meat of her cheekbone, feeling her skin warm up at his words.

 

“I just told you--” Lex sighed in frustration, hazing golden hazel eyes betraying her emotions.

 

The next words were purred into Lex’s flaming red ear, the sound of Butch’s husky voice sending warmth down her body. “If you wanna get closer to me, that’s all you gotta say girl.” 

 

Lex rolled her eyes, gasping moments after when Butch rolled his hips against her, now successfully securing his spot on top of her on their bed. Slightly chapped lips kissed along her neck, biting gently down when the other began to wriggle.

 

“That tickles!” Lex gasped, giggling when he continued kissing her there. 

 

The hand he had on her cheek traced down the other side of her neck, over her collar, before pulling down the zipper of her dirty work jacket. Thankfully for Butch, and for his growing hardness in his own suit, the top of Lex’s Vault Suit was already unzipped and tied off at her hips, revealing the white undershirt she always wore underneath.

 

Butch took in a breath of her scent, pressing his nose against her sternum, his hand going back up and pushing underneath her top to grope at a breast. She smelled of sweat and her own personal musk, combined with the dry smell of the old jacket.

 

For some reason her smell really turned him on.

 

Which gave him an idea.

 

“Get on top.” He quickly breathed, tugging off his own leather jacket while unzipping his suit to his hips, pushing the rest just below his calves. Lex blushed, fumbling to get situated on his uncovered lap while taking off her top and bra.

 

Lex chortled a laugh.“You like girls on top, DeLoria?” 

 

Just as she began to push down the pants of her suit, a slight heaviness fell against her shoulders, the black leather helping her realize what it was.

 

Butch groaned below her, grinding his hips upward towards her still clothed derriere. He tugged the crotch of her suit lower until they dangled from her small feet, his other hand tugging Lex’s underwear to the side. Fingers detected no wetness, just warmth, the finger he had in between her legs teasing at her clitoris.

 

In an effort to cooperate, Lex moved along with Butch’s fingers in her crotch, twitching every so often when he would make her feel a little bit of pleasure.

 

“Sit on my face.”

 

The words took her by surprise, the blush dusting across her face forming blossoming pathways down her neck and to her chest.

 

With slight hesitation, Lex did as she was told, tugging Butch’s leather tighter around her in an effort to hide herself away from hungry blue. Butch reacted at her shy display with a groan before half of his view was covered by the thighs he thanked God for, mouth already salivating at the prize between.

 

So what if he liked seeing Lex on top of him and in charge, while wearing his leather jacket and smirking down at him like she was better than him, knowing that he would never best her at anythi..

 

Oh, that made a lot of sense now that he thought it over.

 

“Ah, Butch..” her voice fluttered when he kissed at her button, having been eating her out while coming to terms with his submissive kinks. Pussy worship would have to be added to the kink list as well, considering he just did not want to stop tasting her. She had gotten wetter in the little time he ate her out compared to other times when he would just finger her. The feel of her fingers tugging at his hair was a big enough sign that she was enjoying it, or at least finding pleasure in what he was doing. 

 

By now Butch was openly stroking himself, hand having pulled out his throbbing erection the moment her taste began to drip down the side of his lips. 

 

“You taste so good.” Butch moaned, voice slightly muffled by her thick thighs. He pulled away from her crevice with a lick of his lips, placing a hungry but loving bite to the flesh of her left thigh.

 

The blush already on her cheeks darkened, a hand pulling the old leather up to cover her face in embarrassment. “Shutup..” she mumbled, voice hitching on each vowel due to pleasure still coursing through her body.

 

Hoping to keep the pleasure train moving, Butch silently urged Lex back, large hand helping to place her against his lap again. In all honesty, Butch didn’t know how close Lex was to orgasming at the moment. She was currently shaking due to providing Butch’s all you can eat buffet, so he could only assume she was as close as he was. It was embarrassing how fast he felt his orgasm coming on this time compared to the others where he was a champion amongst the rest of the guys his age. Or at least he thought himself one.

 

A groan pulled itself out from deep within his chest once Lex completely sat herself down on his prick, sheathing him inside of her in one go. She was so wet and warm, muscles still spasming and fluttering around him. 

 

Butch really could not hold on if it continued like this.

 

As if she could sense the struggle emanating from her partner, Lex quickly began to bounce on Butch’s lap, making sure to pull herself up to the very tip before spearing herself down. She remembered from the first time he enjoyed that. If the noises he was making now were any sign of it being true.

 

In the meantime, as Lex did all of the work, Butch brushed his hands up her sides, starting from her wide hips where they originally were at, up her stomach and to her bouncing breasts. They were so soft. He really was a lot closer to cumming than he thought he was.

 

“Are you close?” Lex panted, legs shaking under her. She was grinding now, pleasure buzzing within her with every movement of her hips. It was almost torture how long it was taking and she was getting tired.

 

With swift movement, Butch flipped their positions, Lex now falling onto her back close to the edge of their bed with her legs in the air. She gasped, bouncing with the movement of Butch thrusting hard inside her. All she could really do was cling on and ride it out.

 

Seconds flat, she was becoming a blubbering mess due to the desperate ferocity of Butch’s love making. Lex was clawing at his back, muscles spasming once she was brought over the edge. She could feel blood dripping from where she split the skin, wanting to let go but instead digging deeper when Butch kept thrusting without missing a beat. It was as if the sting of pain was only urging him further.

 

With a low guttural groan Butch hissed a quiet “Fuck.” into the air, his thrusting finally stopping. He collapsed above Lex, making sure not to crush her with his weight by catching himself with his arms against the bed. He could feel soft kisses placed on his hot and sweaty shoulder, trembling hands soothing the twitching muscles of his back.

 

“I love you.” Lex whispered with another kiss to his shoulder. Butch replied with a sigh, falling on top of her now, earning a surprised groan. They were both equally exhausted, using what little energy they had left to kick and tug off any remaining clothes and pull themselves under the covers of their bed before they passed out.

 

* * *

 

 

_ The large hole in front of her ran deep underground, with clear blue water below. There was a spot just before the water began, where white concrete was littered with machines. Pre-war machines.  _

 

_ Lex took a step closer, peering over the edge. The feeling of falling pulled at her chest when she leaned over. _

 

_ Just as she took a step back, the ledge she was standing on began to crumble, her body plummeting into the hole.  _

 

_ It felt like eternity before the light above her began to disappear, the darkness encasing her quickly, like a monster swallowing her body whole. _

 

_ Just as she was closing her eyes in acceptance of her fate, a feeling of uneasiness shook her body, like a tremor rattling her whole. She was forgetting something, but she didn’t know what. Someone was calling for her in the darkness but she didn’t know who. She couldn’t see, couldn’t move. _

 

_ She was alone, and she was scared. _

 

“Lex!” 

 

Butch shook her awake, a look of shocked relief on his face once she opened her eyes. “You talk in your sleep too much, girl.. It’s creepy.” 

 

“Did I say something weird?” Lex groaned, untangling herself from the bed sheets. She was naked and sticky with sweat and other fluids.

 

“You always say something weird,” Butch joked half-heartedly, leaning back against his pillow. He ran a hand through his unkempt hair, looking back at Lex. “You were just muttering a name over and over. Couldn’t make out what it was though.”

 

_ Weird.. _ Lex thought to herself, groaning when her hips trembled in refusal under her combined weight and soreness from the activities from last night once she detached herself from the mattress. 

 

She barely managed to slip her feet into a clean set of underwear before the door to their bedroom opened. She quickly pulled at the sheets next to her at the sight of the Overseer and one of his security goons, trying quickly to hide her naked body. Wolfe, who was standing behind the Overseer,  whistled at the sight, earning a glare from both Lex, Butch and the Overseer. 

 

“Get dressed and wait in the hall.” the old man ordered. “Quickly.” Lex hesitated from dropping her only cover, turning towards Butch, who, in her haste to cover herself with the blankets, was now laying buck naked on the bed. He didn’t seem to mind, instead, glared daggers at the older intruders until they closed the door behind them to give them back their privacy.

 

As soon as the door closed Butch got up quickly and threw Lex her jumpsuit from the night before, along with her undershirt.  Catching his drift, Lex quickly tossed him his own clothes before slipping into her own. Before Lex could zip up her jumpsuit all the way to ensure maximum coverage, the door opened again, Wolfe and the other security, Officer Wilkins, ushered them out of their apartment and into the hall.

 

“As you may or may not know, you two are the last paired to not become pregnant in the months since the Project’s initiation.” The Overseer began, arms crossed over his chest. “Despite whether or not you two have gotten closer, if you cannot provide proof that you two are copulating and trying to conceive, one of you will be replaced.”

 

Lex and Butch exchanged a look, Lex glancing down to where she knew they could find ‘evidence’. Feelings of disgust grew in her when she motioned Butch over and whispered in his ear what he needed to do. He, in turn, grimaced at what the two were being forced to do in order to remain together.

 

Anger could be felt radiating off of the smaller woman, her gaze never wavering from the overseer. Butch stepped in front of her, effectively blocking any view for the others to see of his wife, unzipping her jumpsuit to her belly button. His hand slowly dipped inside the clothes, finding its way into her panties and into the crevice he was sheathed in not that long ago himself.

 

Lex let out a quiet hiss, her hand gripping instantly to Butch’s arm when his two fingers searched deep inside her. He gave her a reassuring squeeze to her side with his free hand at her waist, glancing up to meet her gaze. She was still glaring at the overseer from behind his shoulder.

 

“This what you’re looking for?” Butch asked with a harsh tone, turning around while giving Lex enough time to zip up her suit. He stuck out the dripping fingers to the others, showing them the white evidence of their copulation. Wolfe gave an approving whistle while winking at a humiliated Lex. It was so tempting to flick his spunk in the older ones direction. 

 

“How long have you tried to conceive?” The old man asked, pulling up his pip boy.

 

“About two months plus by now.” Lex growled through gritted teeth. It wasn’t really a lie. The first time they had sex was in December and it was now January. The nosy old man didn’t need to know the specifics. “A week after our first time I got my period. My period for this month will begin in two weeks.”

 

The old man nodded, believing her lies.

 

“Report to the vault clinic to take a pregnancy test immediately.” He ordered without looking up from his wrist before walking away.

 

It took all the restraint within Lex not to trip him as he walked away. Glaring at the Overseer and the security as they walked away, Lex noticed Suzy Mack eavesdropping from her home down the hall, her head ducking back into her apartment when she was spotted.

 

The two walked in silence, barefoot towards the Vault clinic, neither knowing how to react other than burn with rage.

 

When the two reached the clinic, they were greeted with James and Jonas talking between each other before quickly ending any conversation they were having at the sight of Lex and Butch. 

 

“I need to take a pregnancy test.” Lex began, sitting down on the clinic bed. “Even though I already know what the results will be.”

 

James gave both of them a curious look, spending a few seconds more taking in their appearances. “Did the Overseer--” the doctor stopped mid-question, already knowing the answer to his question at the way his daughter reacted to the title. He instead shook his head, walking towards the medicine cabinet and tossing his daughter a small test.

 

Lex caught the packaged test in her hands, unwrapping it as she made her way towards the public bathrooms.

 

An air of awkwardness settled into the clinic room as they waited. Jonas began to sort through files, ignoring the tension growing between an arm-crossed father and a nonchalantly waiting Butch. Dark brown eyes bore into the middle of Butch’s forehead like a laser, fatherly anger overpowering respectful doctor lines.

 

“Is she pregnant?” James growled out, blue eyes flicking over to him before flicking back towards a wall that was so interesting for some reason.

 

“Only if you can catch pregnancy after a week from fucking.”

 

“Butch, I am this close--”

 

“Alright, alright, sorry.” Butch scratched at his head, running his hands through his disheveled hair. “No, I doubt it. It hasn’t been long enough.” 

 

A sour taste filled James’ mouth at the thought of Butch and Lex becoming intimate in that way, despite how much his daughter had fought against it. He knew now, however, that the feeling had grown and developed into a mutual affection rather than the rivalry the two had before. Despite that, the need to protect his daughter was still strong. He didn’t want to let her go just yet.

 

The clinic door opened once again, Lex walking in test in hand. She was staring at it, brows furrowing.

 

“Not pregnant right? Let’s go back home--” Butch began walking out the door before a hand stopped him in his tracks.

 

“The test is broken.” 

 

Eyes turned towards her, Jonas peeking over a computer console at her words as James marched over and picked the test out of her hands.

 

On the test where the results would usually be, were a garble of lines, some faded and not eligible to take as results. 

 

“Most likely it’s too early to tell. I’ll let the Overseer know you need to come back in another week to take a different test in order to get a definite answer.” James sighed, tossing the small thing into the trash bin. Lex nodded, before turning to exit the clinic, Butch waiting for her right outside.

 

An uneasy feeling crept down James’ shoulders as he watched his daughter make her way down the hall, hand in hand with Butch. “Jonas.” he coughed, turning to his assistant in the other side of the room. “We must put this plan on hold. For now.”

 

* * *

 

 

Another week went by in the blink of an eye, Lex continuously working diligently at her job to avoid the looks others were giving her in the Vault. Suzy had begun spreading a rumor of Lex being infertile after she had seen her and Butch walk out of the clinic in silence.  _ As if she’s one to talk. _ Lex thought to herself bitterly.  _ She’s on her, what, third miscarriage? _

 

If she wanted she could have returned the favor with a few sharp words of her own the next time she saw her. The only problem being the house arrest she and Butch were under. The Overseer had ‘instructed’ the two to remain in their homes once out of work until the pregnancy ‘took’ or else to keep trying. They had until the end of the month to produce results or else they would be reassigned.

 

Lex had rolled her eyes at the instructions but it was Butch who, almost desperately, urged her to listen. He was no longer meeting Freddie or Paul past curfew, instead, spending the time wrapped around Lex and more times than not, in between her legs. 

 

In the past week, the two had explored every position they could think of, only for Butch to figure more out. By now, the delinquent knew how to make his wife feel good without pushing any harboring disgust for sexual acts.

 

In the end the whole situation was just leaving Lex exhausted. The area between her thighs and legs was constantly sore, her lower back muscles throbbed in exhaustion and the stress of waiting for her period to arrive to determine whether she was pregnant or not was pushing her over the line. 

 

Growing anxiety of even the thought that Butch was actively trying to get her pregnant was making the whole situation too much. It almost made her feel like she was suffocating under the pressure of both Butch and the Overseer’s, no, the Vault’s stupid project. The conflict between wanting to stay with Butch after finally finding happiness with him and the fear of getting pregnant made her feel nauseous. It was ultimately just one fear fighting off the other.

 

A knock at the door to her workstation snapped her out of her thoughts, realizing it was Butch that was standing there, looking at her from the door.

 

“Hey.” Lex gave a small smile, continuing to work on a strain of code on her terminal. Butch walked over, casually leaning on the side of her desk.

 

“Almost done there?” He asked her, tapping on the terminal with his elbow. Lex tried her hardest not to roll her eyes.

 

It was still two hours until she was able to leave work, if nothing else came up. It was always surprising how much work would get piled on as soon as she would finish with the pile of work she had for the day. If only the Overseer would use the resources they had to repurpose the old terminals in order to make newer ones, that would not break every few months.

 

Just the thought that the Overseer would listen to her request was as likely as her being pregnant. Those two thoughts almost made her laugh. 

 

“What’s so funny?” Butch asked, biting down a smile. The only answer he got was a shake of a head from Lex, her eyes darting back to the screen of the terminal she was working on. “Stanley here?” He asked after a few seconds of silence, Butch tugging his jacket off and placing it on an empty chair nearby. Lex noticed, eyeing the other undressing the piece of clothing he was never without.

 

“He left early. Headache.”

 

Butch did a silent cheering gesture where Lex couldn’t see, turning to his working wife. Hazel eyes glanced up at him curiously, fingers typing away code without a seconds pause. 

 

“So’s how ‘bout we do something fun instead?” A hand ran across his gelled hair, checking it was still sculpted as it was in the morning. Lex ignored him, all too focused on her work. “Lexie..” Butch groaned, leaning back on the table behind him, making sure to make a show of his flirting.

 

Slightly irritated now, yet very much amused at how hard Butch was trying, Lex shot the other a quick glare, quickly regretting it when he countered the look with a hungry stare. “I have a lot of work to do Butch, I can’t deal with you right now.”

 

Not accepting that as an answer, Butch strutted over, placing both hands behind Lex’s chair and spinning her around to face him. “Don’t be like that doll.. Let me help you relax.” To make his point, Butch pressed himself flush against Lex, grinding both their crotches against each other.

 

Lex rolled her eyes, laughing at how hard he was trying to seduce her. A light blush bloomed on her cheeks when Butch dipped his face closer to hers. “Well aren’t you the pretty boy?”

 

“I’m your pretty boy, forever.” Butch laughed back, leaning down to kiss her. “C’mon, I want to get in as much screwing before you’re on the rag, ya can’t blame me--”

 

A sudden rush, similar to leakage, caused Lex to snap away from her husband’s embrace, red face turning redder. “I think I got it just now.”

 

“Really?”

 

With a careful shove, the smaller woman darted out of the room, heart beating rapidly in her chest. She didn’t know why she was so embarrassed-- nervous?-- at finally getting an answer. The door of the public bathroom shut behind her, the sound of the stall slamming shut echoing in the small room. The sound of dripping was the answer she was hesitant to unveil.

 

But it wasn’t the answer she was waiting for.

 

There was no marking that would signify her beginning menses, nor any red evidence falling into the toilet. 

 

She was already half a week late.  _ No way would it stick so fast. _ She thought to herself, pushing the palms of her hands against her forehead.  _ It usually takes at least months or years to get pregnant the first time… Right? _

 

Was being pregnant really the only answer she was waiting for? If she wasn’t there really was no problem for her, and yet she couldn’t shake off a deeper fear; She and Butch would be no longer together. The results of her waiting would really change how the rest of her life would turn out and she needed the answer  **now** .

 

The lights in the clinic flickered once Lex waited patiently for her father to draw her blood. She had made it by herself to the clinic after a minor breakdown to go through with the test once again to get a definite answer. Butch showed up after half an hour after she had ran off, suspecting she went on her own. 

 

Surprisingly, he decided to wait outside.

 

The sting of the needle was a dull pain when it penetrated her skin, watching as the dark red liquid rushed through the plastic tubing and into the small container. 

 

She was excused while the tests results were being processed, her father’s eyes focused on the screen of his terminal. Lex rolled the sleeve of her Vault suit down as she stepped out the clinic door, glancing up shyly at Butch.

 

“We never did talk about kids did we?” Butch asked. He was not wearing his jacket, Lex noticed.

 

Lex quietly shook her head no.

 

They laced their fingers together, Butch holding onto the hand Lex’s steel wedding ring was on with the hand he had his own on. 

 

“Never thought I would have any but..” he paused, finger spinning Lex’s ring around on her finger. “But if I were to have anybody as the mom to my kids, I’m glad it’s you.” 

 

“Going soft on me DeLoria?” Lex sniffed, wiping the side of her eye crudely with her free hand. “God, you’re a sap.”

 

Butch laughed.

 

“Boy or girl?” 

 

“..Boy.”

 

“Wouldn’t mind a girl.”

 

The door next to them opened with a hiss, James stepping forward, surprised to see the two members of his family half way to tears. He carefully and honestly read them the results, watching as their expressions doubled with.. well, emotions. 

 

Butch picked up his wife in happiness, spinning her around as tears fell freely from both their closed eyes. James couldn’t help the smile that grew on his face as he watched his now adult daughter cry in happiness.

  
The DeLoria-Valentino family would have to prepare for a new member to join them soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally done! x_x sorry for the long wait, I had changed so much from what I had originally plotted out but nonetheless here it is! I hope you guys enjoyed this, and can't wait to see you in the next series!


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